Could a heart rate of 180 after exercising be dangerous?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 40-year-old male. I have been overweight since I was young (5'11" and ~245 lbs), but I am really working to get in better shape. I have actually been exercising regularly (most days of the week 20-60 minutes, with an average of around 40) for several years now and definitely am feeling healthier in general, but I still struggle with weight loss. I am continually working on a healthier diet as well, but my metabolism just does not feel like it wants to budge.

My main question is about heart rate. Based on my age, my maximum heart rate should be 180 (using the 220-40 formula), though I suspect it is higher than that because I have actually seen it higher before. I aim for keeping it around 85% of that (so 153) most of the time, and always an average of less than that for each workout. That said, lately, I have done some really intense workouts where it does regularly climb above the 153 in the 160's-170's range, and occasionally even touches the 180's briefly. [Once I saw it ~200, but only once, and I try not to ever overdo it that much]. An example of a workout that gets my heart rate into the 160's-180's would be an alps incline workout on my incline trainer. Another example would be intensive cardio in Ring Fit Adventure.

It is also worth noting my father died young of a heart attack while exercising, but he also had several warning signs leading up to it that I do not (such as frequent fainting spells), and I have no idea how hard he was exercising, etc. Unfortunately, I just know he was on a treadmill.

I talked with my doctor briefly about this, and he said he is not too worried as long as I am not exceeding the 180 for prolonged periods. I have felt my pulse when it is like this and it is so quick it is slightly alarming, but I know that if I do not feel good or am having trouble, I should stop, and that does not usually happen. So, my questions are, since I have been working out regularly, is it safe to sometimes exceed the 85% MHR marker and approach MHR as long as the average for the entire workout is below 85% and I warm-up and cool down first? Is it safe to briefly touch MHR as long as I am not there for long?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

The target heart rate range for vigorous exercise assuming 75 is your resting heart rate is 220-40 = 180, heart rate reserve is 180-75= 105, and the vigorous range is 70-85 percent of this added to your resting heart rate.

My range is 145 - 165 approximately which is the range for vigorous activity and it is the average not a single value. So yes, you may exceed this for but your actual average should fall in this range.

However, I will argue that you are at risk because of your family history, and exceeding the upper limits is not recommended even for short durations and you are really not getting to lose weight in that range but exploring the limits of your body.

You need to get fit first and then consider yourself in the elite athlete range to exceed the limits, even elite athletes drop dead close to 200 and this is with all their training.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

If your resting heart rate is 60 then you can add the difference of 15 to both limits your vigorous range goes up to 180, so you are correct with your calculation.