Monday, June 18, 2012

I'm getting slower

Last night I was lying on the bed reading and could see my HR in my crossed legs (they move a tiny bit with each pulse) and it seemed pretty low. .


For the last couple of years (since I got fit) my resting HR has been 48 ...I get this measurement sitting or lying down all the time...for some reason if it's not 48 it's almost always 52..don't ask me why I never see numbers in between... one time it was 46. 


This time it was 43. I took it a few times over the next hour and it was the same. 


I have noticed in the past that after long runs HR is elevated for a while (obviously) but often the next morning it is extra low. I googled for anything about this effect but results are swamped by tons of articles (about 5,230,000 of them 8/ ) about how resting HRs lower after doing an exercising for some time. 


Quite hard to find decent articles about a lower resting HR 10-20 hours after exercise. Has anybody else seen this effect? 


I don't think it's a real change in resting HR...this snippet I think may explain it:


The benefit of exercise on blood pressure occurs after physical activity. After a bout of exercise, the blood vessels throughout your body dilate. This relaxation of the vessels creates wider openings for the blood to flow through, therefore reducing the amount of resistance and pressure on the walls. This dilation can last for several hours after exercise, resulting in lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.


If the BP is lower, it stands to reason that the HR could also go down as there is less work for it to do. Next time I see my Dr. I will have to ask her.  

Any MDs out there?  Feel free to chime in and educate us.. 8)

2 comments:

  1. Sorry I can't educate on this but I've experienced it as well. I suffer from low blood pressure and my resting pulse is often 35 after exercise as you describe. 32 was the lowest I measured so far.

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  2. Interesting..we must have similar body-types. My HR has never been THAT low....lowest was 37 in my twenties.

    I don't have low BP, used to but it's been inching up with age.

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