My heart rate is very high when running

[moet36]

I ran a mile earlier today (at a semi decent pace: under 8 minutes) and when I measured my heart rate it was 190. Later on I checked the heart rate chart and 190 is measures at 95% effort for somebody my age: 27.

Is my heart rate too high for this type of exercise? I'm in fairly good shape: 188 lbs, pretty muscular build, probably around 15% fat level.

 

[skyking]

It's not so simple as just the 220 minus your age thing. Need to really ask your doc about it, and gather some data on your resting HR too.

 

[vi edit]

How are you measuring your HR? Wrist based optical sensors can be really flaky and misread. When it comes to pure HR based training it's 1 part art, 1 part science.

There's a ton of opinions out there and a slew of charts to show stuff. From a very simple standpoint I'll lump HR Zones into 3 very simple categories.

1. Aerobic zones - 50%-75% of max heart rate. When in this zone you can easily carry a conversation with another person. You can speak full sentences and talking is easy. This zone is fully aerobic and builds basic cardiovascular fitness. You want to be spending about 80% of your weekly workload in this zone.

2. Threshold zones - 75%-90% of max heart rate. When in this zone you can speak short phrases. Conversation is not easy and your breathing is much deeper. The higher ends of this are "threshold" zones where your body is failing to produce energy aerobically and going into anaerobic energy (sugar stores in your muscles). This is not a zone you can easily maintain for long periods of time without sufficient training. Spending too much time in this zone will put you at risk of injury and you have to allow for sufficient recovery after being in it for extended duration.

3. Max HR/Anaerobic zone - 90%-100% - This zone is full out balls to the wall, extreme activity. Even short words are not really possible and you can sustain it for very short periods of time (measured in seconds and possibly minutes). You only hit this zone for very specific purposes and most casual athletes should not be here.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Seems high. I'm old 47 and fat 5'10'' 210lbs. I run a slow 8 min mile and my heart rate is low 160's.

 

[mike8675309]

Check with your doctor as it helps to know your resting heart rate as well. The more efficient your cardiovascular system the less effort your heart has to expend to get the volume of blood moving through the lungs that it needs. This tends to result in a lower heart rate.

Not to worry you but skinny people die of heart disease every day. Just being fit doesn't mean you won't have an issue. But simply having an observed high heart rate doesn't mean you have an issue either. See a doctor. I would.

 

[KIAman]

I measure my heart rate with my galaxy s8+ sensor. My heart rate is also high when running. My resting heart rate is 55. When I rest in between sets of lifting, I maintain around 110. No clue what it is when I am actually doing a lift.

Here's the strange thing. I always warm up by jogging at 8 mph for about a half a mile. About a minute into the jog, I am already at 170. I don't feel tired or exhausted and my breathing is normal enough to carry out a casual conversation so I don't know why it goes so high during a casual jog. But get this, when I go for a fast mile run at 10 mph for a 6 min mile and my heart is the same 170ish rate but I am breathing very hard and can't talk much during the run.

When I consulted my doctor, they did a shit ton of tests and EKG and the works but found nothing wrong. I'm much older than you but I'm 6' and 185lbs.

 

[mike8675309]

At 5'10" and 230lbs when I run I will see periods, usually when I'm near the end of a 5k run that my heart rate will be in the 170 range. Otherwise it averages during the run at 145bpm. I don't see that as abnormal. If someone is idling along at 190bpm, that's a little concerning. If just a spike I would ignore it.

Since I started running regularly my resting heart rate dropped from around 88 to 54 at my last blood donation.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I think the other posters may have missed something.

"I ran a mile earlier today (at a semi decent pace: under 8 minutes)"

Maybe you're not in as good shape as you think. One mile? Maybe you were at 95% of your capacity.

 

[KIAman]

Hmm... how are you testing your bpm? I jogged a mile on a treadmill this morning and the treadmill rate and fitbit rate are different by 20.

 

[Dmadman79au]

I'm sitting at my desk at work and my heart rate (according to my fitbit) is 54 BPM i did some exercise this morning and it apparently surged to around 195 probably while doing something horible like burpees, which according to the 220 minus your age thing should have had me dead. i'm not, although sometimes it does feel a little like hell here. Dont worry too much about the numbers how did you feel, numbness or tingling anywhere, pain in the chest, faintness, did it take a long time to recover and breath normally again etc they are true indicators that something is wrong, and you should see a doctor about it. oh and for the curious i'm a very fatty 265, 38 yo and 5'11" down from over 300 in mid November.

 

[rvborgh]

some folks have much higher max heart rates. especially if you were very active at a young age (which helps increase VO2max).

if you haven't been running for a while... and go out at very close to max effort you will hit close to max heart rate.

i recall this happening at start of my running "season" sometimes when i'd go out hard. i found i was hitting 215 bpm. Later on as i got back into shape... "hard" ie the same amount of effort dropped down to 193 or so for the same pace.

i would not necessarily go by bpm but by how hard the "effort" feels.

PS: go and get a copy of Lore of Running as well.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Sorry but you're not in cardio shape if you're up to 190bpm after only a mile of running at a sub 8/min mile pace. You might think you're in shape based on bpi but you obviously are not in cardio shape. I may hit 160s running a 10k at 7 min/mile pace.

 

[amyklai]

Yeah, either you're not in shape for running or you should go and see a doctor.
A regular runner should be able to do this pace somewhere in the 120-140 range, 190 is *very* high.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I sub-8 minute pace is faster than most people if you've not been running. It doesn't take long to lose your endurance if you're not training....I can run a sub 8 minute mile even if I've not been training, but my heart rate would be high too.

If you have a watch or app with pace, force yourself to run slow for a few days. See how you feel doing a 10 minute pace...then speed up a little to a 9 minute pace... If you have a heart rate monitor, check it as you run and see if you're overdoing it. Trust me, I used to run a sub 6 minute mile when I was 20, but now at 37 I shoot for an 8:30 pace and I'm happy with that since I run more long distance than sprints.

 

[PeterScott]

How are you measuring your HR? Wrist based optical sensors can be really flaky and misread.

This 1000x. I have a Garmin FR225 optical, and it is supposed to be one of the more accurate Optical HRMs according to DC Rainmaker, that does extensive HRM testing. I have seen it off by up to 50 BPM. I have seen it read 220 BPM, when the highest I have ever seen on my old chest strap HRM was ~180 BPM, and that was more than 20 years ago! I have purchased a chest strap for my Garmin so I can get accurate numbers when I want them. Optical simply isn't trustworthy for many people.

Beyond that there are some things to consider:

Individual Variation: 220-Age is just a generic guidelines. I wouldn't be worried about hitting 190's in my 20's. Especially if:
Activity Level Adjustment: New activities or change in them, usually results in much higher HR in the short term.

 

[bononos]

I ran a mile earlier today (at a semi decent pace: under 8 minutes) and when I measured my heart rate it was 190. Later on I checked the heart rate chart and 190 is measures at 95% effort for somebody my age: 27.

Is my heart rate too high for this type of exercise? I'm in fairly good shape: 188 lbs, pretty muscular build, probably around 15% fat level.

Sounds high but some people have naturally higher top end bpms. It depends on your pace whether sub 8 is a tempo/threshold pace which would be quite hard and the weather. I don't normally count my heart rate and go by effort level instead when running.

 

[mike8675309]

Having a naturally higher top end bpms doesn't mean that it is good. Generally heart rate increases to keep up with increased oxygen intake needs as you increase the work your body does. The type of pump that the heart is can see decreased efficiency as heart rate increases. Excessively high heart rate can indicate problems with oxygenation of the blood causing the body to request more and more flow. If you do find yourself with a very high heart rate when doing strenuous exercise it is always recommended you consult with a doctor. They can find out why your heart rate is so fast and let you know if it is problem or not.

Remember, high blood pressure is bad even if you have a naturally high blood pressure doctors will try to get it down.

 

[PeterScott]

Previously I mentioned not trusting optical HRMs. Here is Why I Purchased a chest strap for my Garmin FR225. Here is today's jog using optical, with a Max HR of 208.

Here is a previous week under similar conditions/effort (tempo run) and what it should look like, using a chest strap, max HR is 161. I am over 50, and haven't seen 170 in years.

 

[jaksonlee62]

During cardio exercise such as running, your heart rate increases. Your heart rate while running can be a good measurement of how hard you're working. As your pace and work rate increase, so does your heart rate. Blood circulates to your muscles so they can get the oxygen and nutrients they need to keep going.

 

[UsandThem]

During cardio exercise such as running, your heart rate increases. Your heart rate while running can be a good measurement of how hard you're working. As your pace and work rate increase, so does your heart rate. Blood circulates to your muscles so they can get the oxygen and nutrients they need to keep going.

Are you going to copy and paste something on brain surgery next?

 

[Minimi14]

I advise you to contact a cardiologist, a seemingly healthy person may have heart problems

 

[David-Jack]

This occurs when there is an increase in body temperature and fluid loss. Your body begins to increase blood flow to the skin as it tries to cool itself down, getting your heart rate right. This can start as early as 30 minutes into your long run.

 

[Scarpozzi]

This occurs when there is an increase in body temperature and fluid loss.

That's why it's important to drink as many bodily fluids as you can prior to, during, and after a run.