Resting heart rate page

[Buckeye]

What is your resting heart rate? Mine is typically in the 40-50 range depending on the time of day. I have never really watched this before until I started going primal and being more aware of my fitness. I know they say athletes or healthy adults have low resting heart rates, but I do not consider myself an elite athlete.


I am just wondering if this is normal. I have no other symptoms that would indicate anything is wrong.

[Nick]

A high variability between resting heart rate and working heart rate is generally associated with good health and low risk of heart disease. That is, it's better to rest at 40 and go up to 160 while exercising than to rest at 80 and go up to 160. RHR is fairly variable between folks, and trainable.

As long as your blood pressure is nominal (not so low you faint frequently -- sometimes a problem in elite endurance athletes with RHR in the 30s), and you feel fine, I wouldn't be bothered by that.

However, if you have other symptoms of hypothyroidism (weight gain, hair falling out, brittle nails and cracked skin, chronic tiredness, low body temperature and extremity temperature to name a few), a low RHR can be one symptom of many, but doesn't mean anything on its own.

[Karin]

Really doing nothing mine's in the upper 40's. Lower 50's if i'm just walking around Walmart playing with the blood pressure machine. BP's often around 90/60 but i don't have any problems. And i'm not an elite athlete either. I'm 32 and female.

[AshleyL]

Heart rate can also be slow from low thyroid.

[LJH]

Mine's always been around 70. High idle speed I guess.

[KV8R]

Mine sits pretty consistently at 54 BPM resting.

[robinmbers]

i think so,A high variability between resting heart rate and working heart rate is generally associated with good health

[aix_sponsa]

The couple of times I've checked with my heart rate monitor, it's been about 55, which I was pleased to see.

[Annieh]

Just took mine now, after eating dinner and sitting here with the computer for nearly an hour. It was 66, I'm pleased with that. I'm hoping it's due to the exercise that I have been doing this year.

With primal, my blood pressure has also come down - 125/74 at last reading.

[WendyLady]

In the 50s here. But my BP has always been 90s/60s (or low 100s/60s if I've had coffee).

Some of us just run at a lower idle (to use LJH's analogy, LOL). Doctors are always very pleased with my HR/BP.