Iam a 50yr old fit male cyclist. My heart rate has hit 212 .it took a long time to for it to drop. is this ok?

Question

Iam a 50yr old fit male cyclist. My heart rate has hit 212 .it took a long time to for it to drop. is this ok?

Answer 1

what is a "long time"? everbody's recovery time from physical activity is different, it all depends on our fitness levels. if you are experiencing discomfort due to cardio activity, I'd discuss it with my GP. if your recovery time is longer than it should be, work with a trainer to build up your fitness level.

Answer 2

Sofa king is right. YA ain't no place for med advice.

That being said, here's my advice... ;)

1. 212 is an extremely high heart rate, more so at 50. How are you measuing it? Are you certain it's accurate?

2. What does "long time" mean? Your HR should drop like a rock from 212 to the mid 100s when you stop exercising - I hope you do a cool down.

3. See a Doc. ASAP. Hopefully your OK. It doesn't matter how fit you are, you can still have heart issues.

Right in the middle of my racing career, I was found to have a bad heart valve and had open heart surgery. I was in great shape, but that had nothing to do with it. See the Doc. for your own piece of mind.

Answer 3

no this is bad and you are candidate for heart attack or stroke go see the doc.

Answer 4

If you don't go see a doctor before your next ride, you'll have to see a mortician.  The choice is yours.  Be responsible.

Answer 5

If you're worried call your cardiologist.  Y/A is no place to look for medical advice.

The armchair physician in me says: "no thats not good".

But I've only played doctor....and it's been many years

Answer 6

212 is very high for a 50 yr old male. Maximum heart rate is roughly determined by subtracting your age from 220. Which means that for a 50 yr old male it should be about 170. But with good training a 50 yr old male should be able to maintain cardiovascular conditioning sufficient to support a max heart rate well above that general figure of 170. Plus max heart rate can vary quit a bit from person to person. I had a max heart rate above 230 into my 30's. So a max heart rate of 212 by itself is not that concerning, but it's the recovery time that signals trouble. Your heart rate should drop back below 80% of your anarobic threshold within 1 to 2 minutes. With a max of 212, that would be somewhere around 160. In younger athletes an elevated heart rate usually indicates that they are over training and need to ease off a bit, by doing a week or two of LSD training. But in your case I don't know, a very high heart rate, combined with a slow recovery time could be an indication of some more serious problem. I have no way of knowing. Other than getting a doctor's opinion all that I can suggest is that you take it easy for a while, and track your resting heart rate, it's the best way of regulating your training.

Answer 7

It depends on alot of factors, and how long you've been monitoring your HRr to begin with.

For a 50 year old, it's definitely cause for concern. Go see a doctor. You won't find one here.