Poor heart rate recovery after exercise

I am 42.  For some months I have been building up my running to 3 one hour sessions a week after years of inactivity.  My resting pulse is normally 60 bpm.  My maximal after running is around 170 bpm and it reduces rapidly to 100 bpm when I stop, where it stays constant.  It takes several hours to return to my resting rate of 60 bpm and may not return to normal until the following day.  Should I be concerned as I have read that poor recovery rate is linked to mortality.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

That is actually pretty normal.  The important number for heart rate recovery is how quickly it drops intially after your work out -- from 170 to 100 over a few minutes. If you work out hard, it may take several hours for your heart rate to get back to a normal range.  

Hope this helps.

[xstalkrx]

I am 22 years old....if I run for 40 minutes and get my heart rate up to 170 for the majority of the run.....it will take 5 minutes to come down to 120.  During this 5 minute time period i am slowly jogging and then switch to a brisk walk which I would assume could be partially responsible for the time it takes to come down?  I've recently had panic attacks and increase in overall general anxiety..could this also contribute even if it is on a subconscious level?

[mnjohn]

I also, after excersise develop anxiety, which in turn makes my HR rise again after stopping my workout. I suffer from Panic/anxiety ALOT! It sucks, but wont kill me. My answer to you would be YES. If you are worrying about your HR, you will become anxious about it. I do every day I work out. Its a bad cycle, but I deal with it.