Heart rate targets for 60 yo in less than ideal health?

[uart]

Background. I'm a few months off 60 yo and have some cardio-vascular issues (I had two stents put in about 20 months ago). Given this, I usually try to pace myself and not let my heart rate get too high, but only recently have I actually bothered trying to monitor it.

So today I was monitoring my HR on a fairly easy MTB ride, and basically just trying to get a feel for how the numbers correlated with my subjective feelings of physical comfort/discomfort.

- For a lot of the ride my HR was around 120 to 130, and that felt pretty good. Like I knew I was working, but I could have kept it up for hours.

- Heart rates over about 135 felt a bit stressful, like it was ok to have it up there for a while getting up a hill for example, but I wouldn't like it that high for more than a few minutes at a time.

- Only a few times did I go over 140, and that seems to be my stress point. My highest was 147 and I needed to stop for a short rest to let it come down at the top of that hill (though it did come down really quickly, and I was on my way after about 30 seconds).

I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight into what would be normal for someone of my age. Does the above seem about right? I've never monitored my HR before so don't really have much to compare it to. Also looking for any advice on what levels I should target and what I should try to avoid.

BTW. Don't be afraid to respond because you are worried that you might be suggesting something dangerous to me. I'll take any advice with the proverbial grain of salt (and caution) and won't be doing anything that I feel is stressing my heart too much.

[10speedsemiracer]

The rule of thumb for persons that fall into this group is 220bpm - age, and then multiply by 0.8 however this is fairly approximate, and the best source of guidance is your cardiologist first, your GP second.

[Tim]

...and the best source of guidance is your cardiologist first, your GP second.

I wouldn't be messing around with vague feelings of effort and stress.
220 less age is a very rough estimate for max. HR. I'm 57 and my max HR is 191, so nowhere near the equation.

...what would be normal for someone of my age

There is no normal, everyone is different.
Presumably the medicos gave you the okay to cycle. 120 -140 BPM is probably in the mild to moderate range but I don't know and wouldn't dare hand out an unqualified opinion or advice.

MichaelB and I did fitness test assessments for Alex Simmons' training challenge last week. As an indicator purely of the variability and inaccuracy of simple formulae I held a HR of 171 for 20 minutes, Michael was even higher. That number represents a rough estimate of maximum sustainable effort or Lactate Threshold. Mine was 90% of Max HR, his was about 92%. Neither figure was anywhere close to the approximation formulas such as 220 less age x 0.8.
HR is an indicator of effort but highly variable on an individual and comparative, between-individuals level.
That your HR recovered quickly from 147 is probably an indication of good fitness but once again I don't know.

Speak to your Doctor.
I thought I was gunna die after that test, but I didn't.

[foo on patrol]

I'm 62 and get mine to 205bpm and average 185bpm for a 10klm TT. Talk to your Dr or some Dr with knowledge of sport and see what they say, as we are all different.

Foo

[trailgumby]

My highest ever was 181bpm. That was when I was unfit after having a dose of the flu. When I'm fit, my heart volume goes up and my HR comes down. When I had my pulmonary embolism and was recovering, I was told no more than 130 until I was cleared. Now I routinely hit mid-high 160s at VO2 Max. But when I'm in a race, when I start using caffeine (I can't touch it for daily use), I have maintained an average of 171 comfortably over an hour. I'm 57.

My late and much loved cousin was 73 and still racing at that age. Up the climb from Taree to Krambach he used to sustain >200bpm for the whole climb. He was a bit concerned, so he asked his doctor if it was a problem. His answer in typical laconic Aussie drawl was "only if it doesn't come back down quickly." He died from a head injury. Heart and lungs were donated, I believe.

So heart rate is a very individual thing, as these and the stories above tell. My suggestion if you are concerned and looking for accurate guidance is to get an exercise stress test done. The cardiologist will look for unusual behaviours in the signalling and how your heart responds in real time and use that information to give you numbers that are individual to you.

I'd just caution you to go to a sports doctor for your referral. Regular GPs are used to dealing with sick people who are missing some function and accept that asnormal. They don't usually get that we have much higher expectations. Sports medicos do get that, and advise accordingly.

[MichaelB]

Echo the above comments (esp those from Tim). I’m almost 54, and have a range from 48 (at rest) to a max observed of 193.

My current threshold HR is 177.

The best advice would come from your cardiologist who put in the stents.