Heart Rate Oscillation During Walk

Hi All,

This is my first post. Recieved St. Jude CD in April 2013 followed by ablation procedure a few weeks later. I recently bought a pulse oximeter that records and I have been using during exercise. I have noticed that during a normal paced walk my HR would oscillate between 80 to 90 BPM. It just bumped over 90 a few times. Is this normal? I am 64 and in good condition except for severe COPD. Thoughts appreciated.

3 Comments

Heart rate changes with exercise

by Theknotguy - 2014-01-03 03:01:17

I really wouldn't use the pulse-ox to get a heart rate during exercise. It gets bounced all over the place and doesn't give an accurate reading. Pulse-ox's are great for getting a reading when you're not moving. You can get other monitors specified for exercise that will give you a more accurate reading.

It also depends upon when you take the reading too. Because of my heart meds my pulse is all over the place while I'm "warming up". Then as I adjust to the exercise my heart rate goes up and stays level. My heart rate hasn't settled down sometimes for as long as 20 minutes into the exercise.

I used to sing in a choir so I have to consciously take deep breaths otherwise I'll hold my breath until I finally run out of air. So the lack of consistent oxygen can also make your pulse rate go all over the place. That's a factor from COPD.

Theknotguy

"Good condition except severe COPD"

by BillMFl - 2014-01-03 06:01:07

Given that you have severe COPD I would say you are doing great if you can exercise and only have a heart rate of 80 to 90. Are you on supplemental oxygen? That heart rate, even with a little variation, sounds pretty good .

Rates

by Tracey_E - 2014-01-03 06:01:22

If you feel ok, don't worry about what your rate is. I only count if I'm dizzy, and I count manually. A 10bpm range is fine, it's just an average unless you count for a full minute, and as said above, if you are moving around the oximeter won't be accurate.

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