HR and aging

[bigbill]

I did a search but didn't find anything that applies to what I'm experiencing. It may be nothing, but I have a very hard time getting my HR above 150. I'll be 54 next month, I take BP meds (Valsartan 160mg) and Meloxicam (7.5mg). My most recent cholesterol was 164 with all the right numbers and ratios. I take a low dose Lipitor (20mg). My resting HR is usually 50-52 bpm and upon waking it's often in upper 40's.

I've been doing quite a bit of Zwift with my Wahoo KICKR and have steadily raised my FTP about 50 watts since December but even if I completely sell out on a climb to the point that my legs are about to quit, my HR might get to 155. I did a MTB race yesterday on my gravel bike and averaged 131 bpm with a max of 150. I was working hard, I chased down some guys riding the proper bikes after they gapped me on some single track and pulled them back. It just seems odd that my HR seems to have a governor around 150.

By definition I have Bradycardia but I also consider myself an athlete so that's a factor in my HR being low. In my 20's and early 30's I had a similar low HR but I could also get into the upper 180's, low 190's on a sprint. I'd time trial 170-175 for 40K. Now I wonder what is going on if anything or if it's just a matter of getting older.

[Bewheels]

Hey Bill - I am not a doctor nor play one on TV.
And ...I generally don't pipe-in on threads about people's medical situations because unlike stating an option about disc/non-disc, Shimano/Campy, tubeless/tubular, health questions can be life or death.
And ...if you are concerned, you should see a heart doc that specializes in athletes and has a lot of experience with endurance athletes.

I have been through some heart stuff over the last couple of years and picked a few bits of knowledge while under the care of a top performance heart doc.

1. Blood pressure meds, beta blockers, and other heart meds can cap your max HR. I certainly don't know if what you are taking can but I was on some for a bit and they absolutely did. It was like a sock in carburetor.
2. While many athletes always take pride in a low resting HR, my docs response was simply "I am not sure a group of people think having the heart beat really slowly is a good thing. It can be dangerous". This coming from a guy that works with a lot of top athletes.
3. Heart health trumps performance gains. Every once and a while I had to say that out loud as I was getting dropped from a group that 20 years ago would have never come close to happening.

[boots2000]

Meds can affect all of this-

I also have a low-ish hr. I used to be able to time trial at 170 bpm- Nowadays I am going hard at about 150 bpm. I am also 154. No meds and 145 lb.

One of the things that I have been doing of late is intervals targeted at raising the heartrate. VO2 max type efforts- like 5x5 minutes.
Goal of the effort is to go super hard and raise the heartrate- Keep cadence up rather than grind and really work for some hard breathing.
I got up to 157 bpm on my last session- I am hoping to get to 160 or better.
My theory is that with all of the FTP focused training I just haven't gone to that cave in a while ;)

[Clyde]

C-a-r-d-i-o-l-o-g-i-s-t

[thollandpe]

And ...if you are concerned, you should see a heart doc that specializes in athletes and has a lot of experience with endurance athletes.

C-a-r-d-i-o-l-o-g-i-s-t

Amen. Like Brian I'm going to a top-flight performance doc, one who specializes in nutjob endurance athletes.

Hello my fellow mid-50's endurance athletes! I too have an electrical problem, an arrhythmia. Like others, a low resting HR was a point of pride. Like Brian points out this is actually another risk factor.

My primary care physician and cardiologist are also casual athletes, and they put me on a beta blocker. This dropped the bottom out of the engine room. Resting HR in the 30's, sometimes 5 seconds between beats. Went to the specialist and he says that's contra-indicated for my particular malady. Welcome news. Managing the motor is an ongoing challenge. Have not figured it out yet, but no longer chasing the 1000-km distance and 7500-meter vertical monthly Strava challenges has helped.

My theory is that with all of the FTP focused training I just haven't gone to that cave in a while

My theory is that I already spent too much time in that cave. It's nicer outside the cave.

Heart health trumps performance gains.

Amen, brother. There's more to riding than numbers on the heart-lunger, watt-o-meter, or Strava machine. Time to smell the flowers (or ramps or stinkhorn or whatever grows in your neck of the woods).

TH

PS Have all you aging hammerheads had your bone density checked lately?

[slwrnu]

I am in the same age range and background. It was not so long ago that with effort (running or biking) my max HR could be c 190. Running would always get my HR a little higher than biking. This is normal I believe. As my max HR reduced, along with my capability, I decided to stop wearing a monitor and go with perceived rate of exertion. This has stopped me from competing with the me that existed years ago. My Dr said "let it go". regards.