So, what does it mean when...

[OC]

...your resting pulse is 160bpm?

[Jenny]

Your girlie is good? ;)

What's up?

[Nija]

you're gonna die

[zippyjuan]

Normal is around 70, unless you are Lance Armstrong- his is around 40bpm. Did you have a couple of Starbucks and some Red Bull or something?

[Houdini]

Normal is around 70, unless you are Lance Armstrong- his is around 40bpm. Did you have a couple of Starbucks and some Red Bull or something?

That's what I was thinking. What are the circumstances? If you haven't been doing anything and your pulse is that high, many things can cause such a rate. Some are worrisome; some aren't. Why is your heart overclocked? Need more info.

[brainsmile]

you're out of shape

[nickel]

ingested some caffeine?
took your pulse and got worried about it and made it go up yourself?

anyways....how come you aren't around!!!!?

OC?!!?! OC?!?!!?

now my pulse is high :|

[ShawnLee]

That's bad. Unless there's some other reason for it to be that high, I'd seek help about that.

[ufcrusher]

Are you in pain....that raises your blood pressure readings.

[booger73]

Get your thyroid checked

[Jeffbx]

You're a small dog or a cat? Or maybe a large rabbit?

[Merlin]

That is pretty high. Seek medical attention.

[Jcranmer]

Some people are just normally higher then other. Is this something new or has it always been like this?

Either way it would be a good idea to see a doc about it. High Blood Pressure can cause numerous other issues and can be controller easily through meds, or diet and exercise.

[Airencracken]

You overclocked your heart?

[BrewMaster]

quit doing speed.

actually, you're proabably a small bird if your resting heart rate is 160 beats per minute.

[oblongmelon]

your a timebomb waiting to blow.

[BrewMaster]

your a timebomb waiting to blow.
"black coat, white shoes, black hat, cadillac
yeah, the boy's a time bomb"

-Rancid

[tupacboy]

does rest mean running 15 miles in a full sprint? if not,,, then go see a doc...

[Dman33]

First off, IANAMP but if the palpitations come and go without anything to bring it on you could have a form of supraventricular tachycardia which is under a broad category of arrhythmias. My dad had this for 20+ years until finally he told the doctor about it. (Incidentally, he is very much in shape!) He would just be sitting around and feel a flutter in his chest and then after awhile (several minutes to a half-hour) it would return to normal.

Then one day he was at the DR office for something else and the nurse was taking his vitals and could not keep up with his heart. They ended up clocking him somewhere between 240 and 260 (IIRC) and transported him to the hospital. After about 10 minutes he was down again but eventually he saw a cardiac electrophysiologist that performed a catheter ablation on his heart. (Outpatient surgery, they go into your leg and up to your heart and 'fix' a little valve.) He has been fine since.

Check out this link though, it gives great info. The good thing is that in many cases it is not life threatening but definitely something that should be treated.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003081.htm

I am well versed in this because I get it on occasion but not often enough to warrant a trip to the doc. In fact, I do not think I have had it in several months now.

[avlena]

Get your thyroid checked

:stupid: one of my friends has an abnormally high resting heartbeat, and it was something abnormal with his thyroid. He could have taken medicine, but it gave him funny side effects, so he's doing without. For him, it's nothing immediately dangerous, it just means that his heart is going to wear out a lot faster then a normal person.

[Merlin]

Are you taking any diet pills?

[Houdini]

Some people are just normally higher then other. Is this something new or has it always been like this?

Either way it would be a good idea to see a doc about it. High Blood Pressure can cause numerous other issues and can be controller easily through meds, or diet and exercise.

A resting HR of 160 isn't a normal variant. However, a fast pulse doesn't indicate high blood pressure. In fact, his pressure could be abnormally low during these episodes. I agree that he should see his doctor.

[molecularfire]

:stupid:
No way a resting HR of 160 is normal unless you were just born recently. It's definitely fast, the question is why is it fast and is is faster than that even? Go see a doc. and at least get an EKG.

[nickel]

i do wish OC would check in today. anybody heard from him?

[Houdini]

:stupid:
No way a resting HR of 160 is normal unless you were just born recently. It's definitely fast, the question is why is it fast and is is faster than that even? Go see a doc. and at least get an EKG.

There you go...two docs telling you to see a doc. Do it now! :)

Btw, MF, where did you match?

[tupacboy]

OC... update... :)

[OC]

I went to bed last night shortly after posting. Had a very strange nights sleep, but I'm feeling fine today. I've kept an eye on my pulse and it's done nothing unusual.

Thanks for your concern, everyone. If anything else weird happens I'll let you know.

[cheapchinese]

glad to hear it....
but still go to a doctor.. maybe something your body is telling you...better safe then..

[molecularfire]

:stupid: Still go see a doc. You don't know what it is or why you had it so won't know if it'll happen again. Something like this... it's best to figure out why. If you have an arrhythmia or something, you can seem perfectly fine but then get really bad really fast.

[Jcranmer]

A resting HR of 160 isn't a normal variant. However, a fast pulse doesn't indicate high blood pressure. In fact, his pressure could be abnormally low during these episodes. I agree that he should see his doctor.

You are correct. For some reason, (I suppose because I have both conditions myself) I was equating a fast pulse with high blood pressure.

However I do have a resting pulse of 160 or higher. I have been though just about every test to find out why, including a treadmill stress test, a cardicac cath, and blood work for my tyroid (I think), and so far no one can find a reason for mine.

I do take meds to slow it down some, but they tend to make me feel like crap. So pretty much the general medical opinion is that mine is just normally high and will most likely come down if I lose weight and exercise.

So in some cases a higher then normal pulse might not mean a serious medical condition or at least one that is easy for them to find. :)

[booger73]

It's really hard to figure out sometimes where you might need things.. it might be a cath, it might be an EP study, it might be blood work, it might be a pheo, it could be too much caffeine... but it's probably not 'nothing'
too fast of a heart rate will eventually give your heart the schitz and you'll end up with a cardiomyopathy of some sort i'm sure..
so ya, go see a doc..

[Houdini]

You are correct. For some reason, (I suppose because I have both conditions myself) I was equating a fast pulse with high blood pressure.

However I do have a resting pulse of 160 or higher. I have been though just about every test to find out why, including a treadmill stress test, a cardicac cath, and blood work for my tyroid (I think), and so far no one can find a reason for mine.

I do take meds to slow it down some, but they tend to make me feel like crap. So pretty much the general medical opinion is that mine is just normally high and will most likely come down if I lose weight and exercise.

So in some cases a higher then normal pulse might not mean a serious medical condition or at least one that is easy for them to find. :)

Without knowing the duration or other factors related to OC's tachycardia, I'd reccommend a full workup. He deserves, as MF said, and EKG at the minimum. Such a rate puts tremendous stress on the musculature and valves of the heart, and the energy load demands more oxygen than the coronaries can usually adequately provide, especially over the long term.


It's really hard to figure out sometimes where you might need things.. it might be a cath, it might be an EP study, it might be blood work, it might be a pheo, it could be too much caffeine... but it's probably not 'nothing'
too fast of a heart rate will eventually give your heart the schitz and you'll end up with a cardiomyopathy of some sort i'm sure..
so ya, go see a doc..

Well, pheos (pheochromocytomas, tumors that can cause spikes in heart rates) are very rare, so that wouldn't be my first thought, and it would take a LOT of caffeine to cause such a rate. I agree that any long tachycardia is cause for concern, and it warrants a workup.

[molecularfire]

:stupid:
He didn't say that he had any problems other than a fast heartrate so pheos. aren't as likely because they should cause things other than just a fast heartrate ex: sweating.

Caffeine and pain can increase your heartrate, but not anywhere near the 160's. That's just way too fast for that.

Couple question though...
1)any other problems during the fast heartrate? ex: dizziness, trouble breathing, sweating, seeing stuff, etc...
2)How did you measure your heartrate?
3) Did you measure your blood pressure during this?
4) How are you feeling now? Any return of the fast heartrate or feeling anything weird since then?

[OC]

Couple question though...
1)any other problems during the fast heartrate? ex: dizziness, trouble breathing, sweating, seeing stuff, etc...
2)How did you measure your heartrate?
3) Did you measure your blood pressure during this?
4) How are you feeling now? Any return of the fast heartrate or feeling anything weird since then?

I felt just a little dizzy and flushed, which is when I noticed my heart going like a squirrel on speed. No visions, no trouble breathing.

I held my finger against my throat for ten seconds and counted the hammer blows, then multiplied by six.

Nope.

Feeling fine now. Nothing at all strange since.

[molecularfire]

Ok, sounds like there was stuff going on other than just a fast heartrate - which makes sense because if that dude is beating away it doesn't give your heart enough time to fill with blood so you're not pumping blood as good as you normally would. The dizzy and flushed feeling is probably your blood pressure going down while your heart going nuts. Unfortunately it doesn't say anything about how fast your heart really is going (i.e. part of your heart could be beating even faster than that but you wouldn't be able to tell without an EKG), or what caused it to go so fast anyways. IMO best to get it checked just to make sure it isn't anything serious. This falls into the category of there are things that a doctor may be able to find and treat simply that will save you a LOT of problems down the line. Of course there are also things that a doctor may not be able to find and there are things that if they find they may not be able to do anything about also on that list but you lose nothing by figuring out. Keep us updated on how this goes. Good luck man.

[zippyjuan]

Aerobic exercise can be helpful in reducing your resting pulse rate. Just be careful that it does not get too high while you are working out. As mentioned before, endurance athletes like Lance Armstrong have pulse rates in the 40s.

[DaFunkyUnit]

maybe it's a tumor.

[Showtime]

...your resting pulse is 160bpm?

Oh, that's perfectly normal. *sniff* Mine goes even higher sometimes when I'm sleeping. *sniff* Just a second... *sniff sniff*

Ok I'm up, where we going.. whats going on... who's comin' out... no no, I'm cool... I just got lots of energy...

:shifty:

-j

[Airencracken]

and I think I tasted cinammon...