heartrate decrease inmediately after training

[hans765]

What is considered the right way to measure ones heartrate after training (say jogging or running). I know that <15 beats/min decrease in the first minute after training is considered bad. But I also was told, that especially when running, the leg muscles work as a pump, so stopping competely altogether seems not a good idea. This would have the heart work harder. Therefore some tests measure the decrease in the first 3 minutes.I myself noticed my heart rate going UP during the first 30 seconds, when stopping completely.  The finding of some reserach is that  a heartrate decrease  <15 bpm is correlated to morbidity.Thoes this hold for heartpatients only? I would think that "healty" people, are excluded from the research, so nothing can be said about them.

[hans765]

After the first minute, my heart rate remains the same,  it only starts to drop after the first minute, to 30 BPM after 3 minutes. The HR recovery has apparently always been this low. 7 years ago, when i ran on several days a week, it was the same,a decreaseof  30 BPM after 3 minutes. I understand form literature that a reduced parasympathic (vagal) activity can cause this. This reduced vagal tone is connected to mortality.  In general, I feel fit and have always worked out and live a healty lifestyle. Should I be worried about a sudden cardiac arrest or something like that?

[erijon]

There seems to be a link to stunted heart rate response to exercise, but it is not understood completely and not necessarily a risk factor as many things play into it including one's physical condition. For example, it will take longer for some one who is in poor condition to resume a normal heart rate after exercise than some one who is fit.

The goal I have read is 15 beats or more in the first minute after peak and then 5 mins to normal (60-100). When I was on the treadmill yesterday, I peaked at 10 mets and 148 BPM and dropped my mets to 5 after 5 mins at 10 mets. My heart rate dropped 25 BPM in that first minute and leveled off at an appropriate rate for 5 mets. When I went into cool down, my heart rate dropped another 15 BPM in the first min so it depends on what you're doing as well.

Also, you do not want to stop without a cool down as your capillaries remain open and you will have large amounts of blood in your large muscle groups which can lead to a drop in BP and some will get faint so make sure to walk it off afterwards.

Anyways, hope this helps,

Jon