Resting Heart Rate (Read 1605 times)


Why is it sideways?

    I'd answer you, but Trent will just supersede me.

     

    (But I think the answer is yes, as far as EMTs and trauma physicians are concerned.)

     

    Huh. I would like to hear from an EMT or ER doc on this, just out of curiosity. What exactly would be treated? What's LHR an indication of?

    Trent


    Good Bad & The Monkey

      Is it really that odd to have a RHR in the 30s?

       

      Yes.


      Lower limit of normal is 60.  The source of this line in the sand likely results from population-based study, and some heuristic.  That means that it would be reasonably common to fall outside of the normal range (depending on how the range was defined). 

       

      Imagine that RHR falls along a normal distribution, covering the range of -3 SD to +3 SD:

       

       

      In this case, I'd imagine that a RHR of 30 would be 5 or 6 or even 7 SD below the mean.  So yeah, abnormal.  More commonly the result of an arrhythmia than a runner when viewed from a population-based perspective or when viewed from all the recency biases that an EMT or ED doc might have.

      LedLincoln


      not bad for mile 25

        My pre-running RHR was ~64.  Now it's 48.  It's always borderline unacceptable when I donate blood - I need to do a few laps before they check my pulse.

         

        Anyone gonna find the bell curve with RHR #s on it for us?

        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          Huh. I would like to hear from an EMT or ER doc on this, just out of curiosity. What exactly would be treated? What's LHR an indication of?

           

          LHR is an indication of cardiac dysfunction, typically an inadequately perfusing brady-arrhythmia.  Best case, you get observed.  Worst case, you get a transcutaneous pacer stuck to your chest to deliver electrical shocks to your heart some 80 times per minute.  Sure, you could just tell the doc or EMT that you run and you normally have a HR at 30.  But if you are on an ambulance, it is very possible you are there for another reason and unable to talk or be coherent.  Get in a car crash, get knocked out and end up being put on a monitor showing a HR of 35: you. will. be. treated.

           

          Worse, you may be bleeding out somewhere internally and your heart is racing to compensate for the blood loss.  Your tachycardia may hit a powerful 83 bpm.  The EMT or ED doc may look at that and say, yeah, dude is just fine.  And your bleed will go undiagnosed longer...

           

          Yeah, a HR of 30 can get you into trouble...

          Trent


          Good Bad & The Monkey

            A brief review of the literature, I cannot find any good population-based studies that clarify actual RHR distributions among a large group of health individuals.  What I do fins shows mean HR ~75-85.

            LedLincoln


            not bad for mile 25

              Thanks for checking.