Elevated HR Hours After Exercise

[Swellymon]

I am a regular road-and- mountain biker. A tad out of training with winter months, but still fit enough.

Am 50, am perhaps 10 lbs overweight, mild hypertensive for the last 3-4 years (135+/85+ish) but on lisinopril for 4 months. Cholesterol also a tad high (208/ 121/ 55), so I am at some risk for heart disease.

Question is- - -- just finished a hard 45 minutes uphill ride (HR avg about 150- though I can average 165 at race pace when motivated). Noticed today that my “resting” HR stayed around 90 BPM a few hours later, and is now still 80 BPM fully 8 hours after exercise (vs. an avg walk-around HR of 60 - 70). Am perhaps mildly sunburned- so – that might add to the overall stress on my system? And to be honest, I’ve never really checked HR 2-6 hours after hard riding, though I am sure I must have and have never noticed this 80 – 90 BPM.

Cause for concern? Or is they key test how much HR drops 2 minutes after a 30 minute high HR ride (which is a very important indicator- should drop 25 BPM or more). Have not yet done this test..

Any thoughts?

[Jack54]

Then wouldn't 60 bpm be your resting hr, which is very normal? When you stand, your hr increases at least 10 bpm, I think, in order to increase your BP to meet the needs of standing.

[Swellymon]

I did a bike ride today where I rode an hour moderate effort (HR 135-145), then did a 30 minute climb where I gradually upped the ante until the final portion was not-quite-max = 165 bpm. Then I timed my one minute recovery (135= 30 beat decrease), as well as 2 minute recovery (125= 40 bpm decrease). The reading I did today indicates a 30 beat decrease after one minute is indicative of a healthy heart.

What I am more surprised is that my heart rate the remainder of the day is about 80 bpm+ (until I kick back and lie down- then it goes to 60

[Jack54]

This is scary information below (sorry). Have you ever had a stress test before? The results of the EKG data are very well documented as to peak BP and HR, and the return to normal of BP and HR at certain time intervals. I think that you are well because your HR did significantly drop after stopping the exercise. Although you needed to have checked your HR at 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes then maybe 5 minutes.

If you are worried, do this again and check your HR at these short intervals. You don't have to push yourself up a mountain, if you think you might have a problem with your heart. Just do some simple aerobic exercise to get your HR up, then do the HR checks.

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Heart-Rate Recovery Immediately after Exercise as a Predictor of Mortality

ABSTRACT

Background The increase in heart rate that accompanies exercise is due in part to a reduction in vagal tone. Recovery of the heart rate immediately after exercise is a function of vagal reactivation. Because a generalized decrease in vagal activity is known to be a risk factor for death, we hypothesized that a delayed fall in the heart rate after exercise might be an important prognostic marker.

Conclusions A delayed decrease in the heart rate during the first minute after graded exercise, which may be a reflection of decreased vagal activity, is a powerful predictor of overall mortality, independent of workload, the presence or absence of myocardial perfusion defects, and changes in heart rate during exercise.

[Swellymon]

One add'l FYI.

resting HR about 60 - but able to achieve w/o too much pain max HR of 170 +