Heart Rate??

[pmanton]

Last night while watching a movie my Apple watch alerted me that my heart rate was less than 40 Beats per minute. It did this twice.

Each time I felt just fine, and as soon as I became aware of it my heart rate went up.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is it something I should worry about. I'm 85 if that makes a difference.

 

[mckenney99]

Do you have the ability to download your Apple watch's heart rate monitor history to your computer? The history might show if you have had any previous "events" and if so, it might be worth getting the info to your Dr.
I have a friend who had not been feeling well off/on for several months. When she checked her Apple watch heart rate monitor history she found that she had been going in and out of AFIB for months. She was able to download the monitor log to her computer, send it to her primary care Dr., who took one look at the "strip" & immediately got her a referral and office visit with a Cardiologist. Found out later that she really should have been sent IMMEDIATELY to the emergency room.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Probably ought to check it out, to be safe. Not knowing anything about your general health, it's hard to say if it means much. However, a heartrate below 40 isn't normal, even for people in very athletic shape. Depends on how long your rate was that low, and how the Apple watch measures it. Was it an average of, say, 15-30 seconds, or was it a single interval of 40? My guess is it was one or two beats at that rate, since you didn't notice anything.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Earlier this year, I had several bad falls, resulting in 3 cracked ribs, head injuries with lots of blood, injuries to both arms, and out-of-the-blue wooziness.

The underlying cause was a slow heartbeat - usually around 60 beats per minute. If it slipped below that - trouble.

I finally managed to get a pacemaker. That was 20 days ago, and no incidents since then.

I'm 84. Now I can plan on being around a bit longer.

John

 

[s&wchad]

Doesn't say much for the movie! Were you watching Pride & Prejudice by chance?

Mrs Chad is a big Jane Austen fan. After about 5 minutes, my eyes start to cross and I pass out!

 

[Onomea]

A slow heartbeat is called bradycardia. (Below 60, like John notes above.) I'd never heard of it before, but I was getting readings consistently in the low 40s and occasionally high 30s. My primary carry doc sent me off to a cardiologist who measured me, with better equipment, in the low 60s BPM (beats per minute). He said I have something called "bradysphygmia," which is when every other beat is harder for the equipment to pick up for reasons I forget.

No symptoms here. Not that I notice anyway. I am 71.

But, yeah, I think the advice to see a cardiologist is spot on. Ask your primary care doc for a reference. No harm checking, and it might be life saving.

Good luck!

------

My third son was a serious swimmer. One of teammates, distance guy, had a resting heartbeat of 36. Apparently drove docs crazy.

 

[Imissedagain]

Getting the pulse beat down to about 40, gives you more steady time on target, with smallbore competition.
My goto method was not thinking about the gal I would be seeing later in the day.

 

[chief38]

Never had that issue - I'm married! LOL!!

 

[Skeet 028]

Not a normal pulse rate. You need to get checked out soon. What's your normal B/P?? My pulse was always 40-50 at rest. Good BP too.. Then I developed A Fib. My resting Pulse went to 30-35. Pacemaker time. They set it at 60 and all is fine. I still get occasional runs of A Fib(170) but rarely. If you have a bit of dizziness every now and then especially when getting up from sitting or laying down you do need to be evaluated. I quit riding murdercycles because of that. While sitting you probably won't really notice it. Go see your cadio if you have one or get sent to one by your primary. Not so odd that it showed up while sitting though. I guess the female lead in the movie was not nearly unclothed I guess??

 

[twodog max]

That is probably to low if the watch is accurate. At least discuss it with your doctor.
I have always had low heart rate it hardly ever gets above 60 except when very active. Upper 40's low 50's is my normal. It has reached the point that whenever some doctor takes my BP I always mention the low heart rate in advance. It sort of curtails the discussion.

 

[Skeet 028]

Also told to me by my cardiologist...low pulse rates and low B/P as a natural occurrence are markers for many who developed Atrial Fib

 

[pharmer]

Are you taking Metaprolol or other Beta Blocker by chance? I'm 70 in August and I was getting routine Brady sometimes 25 BPM. Put a monitor on me for a month. Yep. D/C'd the Metoprolol and voila, normal 60 BPM with stable (135/80 BP). I told my cardio "Don't kill me slow. I'm working on a DRT." He asks what is "DRT?" "Its Dead Right There, hopefully before my head hits the floor like a bowling ball dropped on a lane." I saw that at a wedding 50+ years ago and thought; "I want that when it's my turn." Best wishes. Joe

 

[jeffrefrig]

Usually, when mine hits zero BPM, I have to get up and look in the mirror to see if I have a reflection.
Seriously, OP may want to visit the ER and get an inspection.

 

[johngalt]

Are you taking Metaprolol or other Beta Blocker by chance? I'm 70 in August and I was getting routine Brady sometimes 25 BPM. Put a monitor on me for a month. Yep. D/C'd the Metoprolol and voila, normal 60 BPM with stable (135/80 BP). I told my cardio "Don't kill me slow. I'm working on a DRT." He asks what is "DRT?" "Its Dead Right There, hopefully before my head hits the floor like a bowling ball dropped on a lane." I saw that at a wedding 50+ years ago and thought; "I want that when it's my turn." Best wishes. Joe

The doc just recently put me on metoprolol, I don't like it. It tends to suppress the heart rate (like you discovered) and makes me light headed when I stand up. I really feel it during strenuous exercise like weight lifting or climbing a hill on my bike. It feels like I can't get enough oxygen and is holding me back.

Next time I see him I'm going to ask about it.

 

[Onomea]

I like metoprolol just fine.

I had pretty consistent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), as in about 40% of the time. Metoprolol has reduced this to 4%. I don't feel any difference at all, but I have never had any symptoms that I notice from the PVCs either. Per my EKGs, the stuff's working great.

Come to think of it, it did lower my BPM from low 60s to high 50s.

 

[ameridaddy]

Dropped losartan, started metoprolol last Sep. For me it's a miracle drug. Consistent BP 124/65 @55-60 bpm

 

[oddshooter]

About 4 years ago, a day after retiring, I started having daily AFIB attacks; the heart doubles and goes from 75 bpm to 150 bpm in about 2 seconds.
After a year of using meditation daily each time the AFIB hit, I was able to come down from the 150bpm to under 100. A 100 bpm is when the doc says go to the hospital. I stayed out for a year using this routine. My longest meditation session to keep under 100bpm was over 8 hours.

After a year of mental exhaustion waiting for it to hit each day, and then wondering every time if this is the event that doesn't go down; I gave up and had ablation surgery and have now had years of no AFIB.

During recovery after the ablation, I bragged to the Nurse that I could use meditation to drop my bpm. She challenged me, so I got under 40bpm and the heart monitor started screaming. The nursing station saw it. They called the doctors, the "crash cart" was wheeled in and they grabbed the paddles. They were starting a cardiac shock routine before my nurse yelled that it was OK. It was on purpose.
I thought they were going to kill me to save me. The shock stops the heart and they hope it comes back with a regular heart rate.

Metaprolol was given to drop blood pressure IF it went higher with the AFIB. I was lucky, BP mostly did not come up. I attributed small increases to the anxiety of the event itself. Like getting "white coat syndrome" going to the doctor.


Prescut

 

[Skeet 028]

After a year of mental exhaustion waiting for it to hit each day, and then wondering every time if this is the event that doesn't go down; I gave up and had ablation surgery and have now had years of no AFIB.
Prescut

Prescut...you are one of the very lucky people that ablation works on with the first shot. the average is about 3 surgeries and there is a very good chance of A Fib coming back. I take a drug called Pacerone to keep the A Fib at bay. I'm very lucky as I have had no extended sessions of A Fib for a few years now. What I really don't like to take is the blood thinner Xeralto. The slightest cutar scrape and I leak blood all over the place. Guess it's better than strokes and dirt naps though

 

[zeke]

This is cause for immediate visit to cardiologist. Years ago was getting dizzy spells at work, resulting in having to get a ride home from work to take a nap. Mentioned this to nephrologist and was immediately put into wheel chair for heart tests. Over weekend took home a monitoring devise, then cardiolest scheduled me for immediately for pacemaker. My heart rate had been dipping into the high 30's too much, and wasn't that high to begin with. Cardiologist told me i was lucky to wake up from the naps from work. Now am set on 60 bpm for last 8 yrs.

 

[Breakaway500]

Every time I go into the hospital and will be hooked up to a monitor I have to tell them (more like remind them as it is part of my record, if they looked) my heartbeat goes under 40bpm routinely when I am resting or sedated and don't be alarmed. It's been my normal for over 20 years. I'm 65.

 

[JcMack]

6 yrs ago at 69 my cardiologist confirmed I had a "heart murmor". I knew about it a long time previously because I could feel my heart race once in a while. Within a years time I had heart valve replaced. I was experiencing afib after the valve job and had a couple Cardioversions and wound up taking Metoprolol for about 6 months. It seemed to work but the doctor switched me to Diltiazem which controls heart rate and BP. That stuff worked for about 4 yrs but recently had to start taking Losartan as a second BP control. I'm 26 lbs overweight and that don't help.

 

[pmanton]

It hasn't happened since that episode on the 27th. I'll let my cardiologist know on my next visit. If it happens again I'll buzz her.