What heart rate is too low?
I got a friend age 70. He called and said he was feeling out of breath after a little walking, etc. which is a sign of heart issues. He has had a quadruple bypass some years ago. He said he went to the doctor and his heart rate was 60. I said 60-100 is normal and he said “not for me”, “normal for me is 80″. I’ve heard that the lower your heart rate is the better. 65 per minute for years or over a life time is better than always having your rate up at 85. I lost some weight in 2004, I went from 152 pounds to 129 in 3 weeks while eating normally. I was taken off atenolol because my heart rate got into the high 40′s with the medication and the weight loss. I had a friend age 87 whose heart rate was 38-40 and he needed a pace maker and he refused so he died of a heart attack at age 88. So, when this other guy said 60 was too low, why is 60 too low? He is having a pacemaker put in tomorrow. When we discussed his “too low” 60 beats a minute he mentioned that it had gotten down as low as 55. I’m not seeing 55-60 as being critically low, especially not 60. But, I’m not a doctor either, but I always understood 60-100 to be normal.
Best Answer
Bradycardia, as applied to adult medicine, is defined as a resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute, though it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 beat/min. It may cause “heart attacks” in some patients or cardiac arrest. This occurs because someone with bradycardia may not be pumping enough oxygen to their own heart causing heart attack-like symptoms. It sometimes results in fainting, shortness of breath, and if severe enough, death.
Due to heart attack, your friend’s heart is not in a good working condition in spite of quadruple bypass surgery. Myocardial infarction may have led to the enlargement of heart leading to heart failure. Cardioverter defibrillator has to be implanted in the chest in order to prevent fatal cardiac arrhythmia. The ICD will constantly monitor your heartbeats to make sure they are steady. It will deliver a shock to the heart when it senses a life-threatening rhythm. This device can also work as a pacemaker.
Please note that I am not a medical professional.