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rapid heart beat

Hello. I have recently joined a gym after many years of being inactive. I am a 30 year old female and am quite overweight.

I purchased a heart rate monitor to keep track of my target heart rate and have quickly noticed my heart rate is quite fast. My resting heart rate is 84 bpm. This was taken this morning when I woke up and was still lying in bed. A few days ago when I was working out I checked my heart rate and it was pretty steady at about 155 bpm. At one point when I increased the speed and incline of the treadmill, it peaked at about 180 bpm. From the research that I have done on target heart rates, this seems to be way too high. My targeted fat burning heart rate should be at about 127 bpm. I am concerned that there may be something wrong even though I feel completely fine when I'm working out. No dizziness, faint or anything of that sort.

In addition to a new exercise plan, I just recently have been dealing with an overactive thyroid. I noticed something was wrong when I starting having bad heart palpitations, night sweats, etc. In March 2008 I underwent RAI to remove the hot nodule that was causing my hyperthyroidism. I am now hypo and am taking synthroid.

I have an appointment with my family physician this afternoon, but I wanted to see if anyone feels this may be a sign of something serious.
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549433 tn?1215455620
your resting heart rate sounds completely normal.i am guessing the high rate when working out is due to the fact that youve recently taken exercise up and you need to build your fitness up?i would imagine your pulse will be faster the more out of shape you are?certainly for myself that seems to be the case anyway.i dont know about the thyroid thing though.
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465516 tn?1302553328
I had a stress test done a few months back and my heart rate got up to 180 after jogging for a couple minutes. I do have tachycardia but usually just brief episodes. It definaltly could be partly to blame on your thyroid. I had to have my thyroid removed some years back and I know if you too much thyroid hormone it can cause tachycardia.
But I think you should not worry, once you get back into exercise it should get better. I have not cardio in months due to my SVT so I am sure I will be in bad shape when I start back after my ablation next week...good luck
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21064 tn?1309308733
A normal resting heart rate is said to be 60-100, so 84 is fine.  When I was on the treadmill for a stress test, I was told the quick jump in my HR was probably due to deconditioning : (   You may notice that as your exercise routine becomes more steady, your HR may not jump up as quickly.  As for the 180bpm, I'll bet that would be pretty tough to sustain.  I think what I remember hearing is your target high rate should be 220 minus your age, so you may be right close to target....

Not sure about how the thyroid plays into the HR, but I've read where a lot of people find a correlation between thyroid and palpitations...

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Avatar universal
I have also purchased a heart rate monitor and use this to monitor my heart rate.  A good way to figure your target heart rate (THR) is 220- your age.  This would equal 190.  This is your maximum THR and should only be reached on occasion and should not be used for training purposes (in other words sustaining your heart rate at this rate for a prolonged period of time).  You may look into purchasing Sally Edwards' book Heart Zones- Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook.  They have it on Amazon.  I usually train in the 60-70% and 70-80% THR zones.  I will occasionally go to 85%, but only for a short time.  This heart zone training is currently saving my life.  Since I have been using this zone, I have not so much seen improvement in resting heart rate, although a little, but it has lowered my blood pressure.  I have been doing this since January.  Training in these zones has significantly improved my cardiovascular fitness.  I spend most of the training time in the 70-80% range and on an off day stay in the 60-70% range, depending on how I feel and my BP.  I'm new to this concept.  Since you are just starting out, may want to stay in lower ranges and build up to higher ranges.  You need to go by how you feel.  These examples are just me.  This book has good information.  Please take a look at Heart Zone training before you burn yourself out.  Hope this helps.  
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Avatar universal
Thanks everyone for your advice and for sharing your experiences. I saw my family practicioner yesterday and she said my blood pressure is great and my heart rate is fine. The nurse tested my heart rate twice during my visit and they were at 74 & 84 bpm. The doctor said it is fine for me to be at a 155 bpm heart rate when I'm doing my cardio. She said my numbers should lower once my body is more conditioned. So everything is fine and I will continue my quest to get fit and healthy!
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