BPM increase/decrease

[Occupant]

Let me explain: I bought one of those pulse meter watches and found out that whwn I walk  up an incline my BPM will go up to 143 after I reach the top - which is ok for my age (77), but I thought I could do better and decided to walk up stairs. When I did that and checked my pulse after running out of breath it was only 130. That seems to indicate to me that as we get older the heart doesn't get up to speed the way it once did. Does anybody have a number for this?

[ed34]

I'm sure you understand that this is very difficult to even guess at. You did virtually nothing for 25 years, walked up 600+ steps and virtually made it, then another 30 years pass and you find it much more difficult. At the age of 40ish I would honestly expect you to virtually make those stairs, even after 25 years of not doing much. I say this because the less we use muscles, the more unfit we get, but the older we get, the more effect this has. It's much harder to get a 70 year old fit than a 40 year old.
I have no other explanation myself. In fact, I think 120 steps was pretty amazing, considering.

[Occupant]

I agree with you, but you should look at this in a different light and consider my own personal experience. I was active in sports until when I was about 22 years old after that I didn't do a darn thing other than going to maybe get milk :) and did that for 25 years - the real Mr. Unfit to use your example - then I was on business somewhere and we decided to climb the steeple of a cathedral - nothing else to do on weekends. There were 635 steps to get to the top and we all made it, albeit with two stops in between for me to catch me breath and after another 30 years Mr. Unfit (me) tries it again and fails after 120 steps. Granted, I could have slowed down to give my heart time to speed up and probably would have made it, but again, I did it then and now should be able to do it again based on my own personal rhythm. By the way, that day when I did that I walked another 8 km after I reached the top of the stairs - no muscle pain/soreness involved.

[ed34]

I don't think that you could put a number on it to be honest. Everyone is basically different. As long as your heart looks/sounds healthy and works with a good EF, then it is most likely something else. The heart does naturally stiffen with age, but likely much less with someone who has stayed very active compared to someone who lived behind a desk.
I think I understand what you are asking, but I still think it's down to fitness. Let me try to put it another way.
Let's take Mr Fit and Mr Unfit as examples. Now Mr Fit walks up an incline and his heart rate increases to ensure that oxygen levels are maintained. This oxygen level is monitored in the brain. His body copes well because his muscles are conditioned to metabolise effectively.
Now Mr Unfit tries the same thing. His oxygen levels start to fall more than Mr Fit, so the heart rate jumps to 140-160. The oxygen level sensors detect there is ample oxygen in the blood now. However, his muscles are not conditioned enough to be very efficient and fill with toxic wastes. Metabolism reduces severely and the muscles send signals to say they are under stress. To try and help, the brain increases respiration, to saturate much more oxygen into the blood. More haemoglobin will be released into the blood stream for oxygen molecules to cling to. However, this doesn't help, the muscles become more painful, Mr Unfit is really panting and has to stop. The only way out of this is to condition those muscles.

[Occupant]

Yes, I knew that. But that's not my point. I am as much in shape - or out of it, more out actually - as I was 30 years ago and I could do it then and now I can't. The only thing you could say in my case: "You were in better shape by definition because you were younger" and that doesn't make much sense to me unless the heart rate increase/decrease is somehow related to your age. Just as they give you different numbers for your max. BPM based on your fitness level there could be a number for what I am talking about - let's say totally out of shape then and totally out of shape now, but maybe not.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

age , is just a number , if you take care of yourself I have seen 80 year olds run circles around 19 year olds lol

[ed34]

Age would account for something BUT that depends. If I took a 20 year old on a cross country run who had hardly exercised in his life and ate a unhealthy diet, he wouldn't last 20 mins. On the other hand, if I took a 60 year old who had stuck to a good exercise regime for many years on the same run, he would last MUCH longer. I've seen this. When I used to go jogging I'd see young people clinging onto hedgerows trying to catch their breath and much older people trotting past them for miles. Fitness is a huge part.

[Occupant]

So what you are saying is that there is no accepted criterion for this e.g. at age 25 it should be 18 BPM/min, at age 50 9 BPM/min and at age 75 5 BPM/min? Because I know for a fact that 30 years ago it would have been no problem for me to climb these stairs - with time to spare.

[ed34]

You obviously aren't limited to 130, you have reached 143 on an incline. It obviously isn't all abut the heart. I do the same 2 mile walk every morning to the local shops and in the last 3 years my pulse hasn't changed. What has changed is less panting on the hills. I think our muscles becomes more conditioned, more efficient at converting nutrients/oxygen to energy. The muscles themselves also strengthen. If you are out of condition (not saying you are, just saying), then your muscles will constantly scream out "more oxygen" and so your breathing rate will increase. I believe the signals from the muscles reach the brain and your respiration increases. However, this doesn't necessarily increase heart rate. Separate sensors in the brain control the heart rate. I believe they do this by analysing the alkaline/acidity of the blood.