Noticing a high heart rate when jogging, what to do?

[GreenGiant91]

So I had my heart valve replaced back in November 2023 with a mechanical. I’ve been doing the couch to 5k running app on and off since November 2024. I have a Garmin fitness tracker and I notice my heart heart keeps getting high when doing these low intensity runs. I’m not going particularly fast but I keep hitting a heart rate of around 170 and I’ve seen it as high as 183. This just seems way too high for what I’m doing and I’m not sure if it’s the watch that’s off and the stress and anxiety of running causing the heart to spike more.


Any advice on this? My rest heart rate is always around 55/60 range and a walk I might be 100/120 depending on the inclines. No idea why jogging is causing this.

I’m also 33 years old and normal weight too.

 

[3mm]

I keep hitting a heart rate of around 170 and I’ve seen it as high as 183.

GreenGiant91 - 170 bpm should only be seen by a young person doing intense exercise. Perhaps the Garmin fitness tracker is reading incorrectly because of body movements. For example, my simple fingertip monitor will give reasonable numbers when I am on an exercise bike, but it won't even give a reading when I am walking on steps. Do other Garmin users report issues with heartrate readings during exercise?

If you stop for a minute does the reading go to a believable value?

I worry that you may be going into afib. I've had that happen. I could still exercise, but I felt kind of fatigued. You may want to discuss this with your cardiologist.

 

[GreenGiant91]

GreenGiant91 - 170 bpm should only be seen by a young person doing intense exercise. Perhaps the Garmin fitness tracker is reading incorrectly because of body movements. For example, my simple fingertip monitor will give reasonable numbers when I am on an exercise bike, but it won't even give a reading when I am walking on steps. Do other Garmin users report issues with heartrate readings during exercise?

If you stop for a minute does the reading go to a believable value?

I worry that you may be going into afib. I've had that happen. I could still exercise, but I felt kind of fatigued. You may want to discuss this with your cardiologist.

Hi,

So I contacted my nurse about this and she reassured me that it’s still a normal max heart rate for my age and it will come down the fitter I get. She thinks my anxiety could be spiking it too as I have a lot of health anxiety about the heart and fitness.

When I slow down my heart rate does come down. I think it’s something I’ll keep an eye on but I also think the garmin might be getting the number wrong sometimes even on walks.

 

[JoeWanderer]

Which Garmin watch have you got? Recent models have improved a lot in terms of precision, but still some would recommend you get a chest strap, which is supposedly more precise. Also I'd try to stop and try a manual pulse reading whenever you see these high numbers. You can also get some of these phone apps which use the camera to measure the heart rate, but I suspect they're less precise than the watches.

Some of the newer Garmin watches even have the functionality to detect AFib, but it doesn't seem to be available in the UK yet. More information on how it works here.

Still, I tend to agree with your nurse that, if you're just starting to run and depending on the pace and the incline, maybe 170 bpm is "borderline acceptable". Certainly worth keeping an eye on, though.

 

[GreenGiant91]

Which Garmin watch have you got? Recent models have improved a lot in terms of precision, but still some would recommend you get a chest strap, which is supposedly more precise. Also I'd try to stop and try a manual pulse reading whenever you see these high numbers. You can also get some of these phone apps which use the camera to measure the heart rate, but I suspect they're less precise than the watches.

Some of the newer Garmin watches even have the functionality to detect AFib, but it doesn't seem to be available in the UK yet. More information on how it works here.

Still, I tend to agree with your nurse that, if you're just starting to run and depending on the pace and the incline, maybe 170 bpm is "borderline acceptable". Certainly worth keeping an eye on, though.

It’s a vivoactive 5 so it’s new enough. Yeah the nurse said I’m within my max heart rate limits. I should add I haven’t done any running since early 2023 before becoming sick with endocarditis. My exercise has been mainly walks and yoga until I started running again. With the odd hike.

I’ll keep an eye on it and hoping it’ll come down over time. When I go from jog to a run my heart rate does come down to a normal number.

 

[pellicle]

I’m not going particularly fast but I keep hitting a heart rate of around 170 and I’ve seen it as high as 183

Have you actually counted beats yourself? This seems typical of reading errors created by "noisy connections"

 

[GreenGiant91]

Have you actually counted beats yourself? This seems typical of reading errors created by "noisy connections"

Haven’t counted but I know I could count the ticks haha. My anxiety would flare up when I see it that high and I get in my head too much thinking it’s at a dangerous level. But I now know it’s not dangerous number and I’m within my max limit. I’ll try to count them next time and not freak out

 

[pellicle]

Haven’t counted

My shortcut is to watch the sweep of my (mechanical watch) second hand and as it passes any of the markers (5, 10, 15, 20...) start counting zero, one two, three... until it gets to one second past the next marker (six seconds). Then multiply by ten (add a zero). Make sure you start with zero.

That's ball park

Extending out to 15 seconds (a full quarter dial) gives more accuracy but over 150 increases the chances of HR lowering (recovery) or MOD counting.

Having a mechanical makes this easier

I have zero faith in those watches (I used to have a Garmin, but any brand) giving accurate results at higher rates without pairing with a chest strap.

Best wishes

 

[Woodcutter]

I'm a lifelong runner and have regularly used a heart rate monitor (HRM) for almost 20 years now. I have always used Garmin products. Some thoughts based on my experience(s):

- chest strap was generally more reliable and consistent than the optical sensors (in the watch). [I always used a chest strap prior to my heart surgery but largely stopped (using the chest strap) after the heart surgery due to discomfort.]
- I first detected what was ultimately diagnosed as Afib thanks to the HRM. This was ultimately corrected with an ablation.
- The Garmin HRM's that I've used have all fairly regularly indicated a very high heart rate. I currently am still using a VivoactiveHR which must be at least 5 years old. "fairly regularly" for me means that several times a week it will start out reading 40-50 bpm high. Generally it stabilizes within a mile/10 minutes but occasionally it will remain incorrect for an entire run. "occasionally" is once or twice a month. What I do whenever I have any doubt about what my watch is reporting is to simply stop, put a finger on my neck (carotid) and count the beats in 10 seconds. Since I learned to do this over 40 years ago when I was running track as a kid, it's pretty much second nature.
- For me, the old rule of thumb of Max HR = 220 - age has always been close. So I don't find 170-180 for a 30 year old shocking. I remember the days when I'd finish a hill workout and count 30-32 beats in that 10 sec finger check. I'm over 60 now and 30 would be a major warning signal for me! - That is what happened a couple of years ago when my HRM was consistently reading what I thought was too high for my effort. This was post heart surgery (my Afib episode was prior). I had Aflutter that was ultimately addressed via ablation.

 

[d333gs]

What kind of time period does it indicate that you are at 170 ? Half an hour or more?
I have a friend in low medium shape in his mid 50s who will do 8hr bike rides who cruses at 155 for hours, which seems wild to me.
I don't have a Garmin but I do have anAppleWatch that will show spikes in BPM, but they are clearly errors.