My partner is worried about her heart rate being extremely high as soon as we start riding. I created a compare chart of our last ride to show the heart rates and powers. It was a relaxed ride, her mostly in my wheel out of the wind when possible, but on her own on a few short climbs. I gave my best at the climbs, she just made sure to reach the top. Still she hit a max of 199 beats according to her Garmin FR165 watch. We both have the FR165 for heart rate broadcast to Garmin 530 with 4iiii powermeter (left cranck).
Our physical shapes:
Me - blue line - 54y - 400km this year - 178cm / 91kg (about 10kg too much)
Her - purple line - 37y - 150km this year - 162cm / doesn’t dare to touch a scale, but probably 15kg overweight.
Is her heart rate really that extreme? She’s always had a much higher heart rate then mine and when looking at the chart, I think the “flow” of our heart rate matches, hers is just always about 30 higher. Is her bad training shape the biggest factor? Is it alarming enough to visit a sportsdoctor for a test?
Both using the optical from the watch and broadcast to the bike computer. I read that even optical is reliable enough ( Outdoorgearlab but surely not that much deviation as we’re seeing now.
Using the large population averages, women have a 20 beat higher HRmax compared to men. HRmax also drops around 1 beat per year when looking at large population stats.
She having a 37 beat higher HR compared to yours, shouldn’t really be considered worrying. Your example isn’t really extreme, especially if she doesn’t have any pain or odd feelins during the acivity. But when in doubt, it is always better to consult a cardiologist.
I personally don’t trust optical HR. In any case, I suggest stopping when the HR is at say 199bpm and do a manual check. Pulse on Neck and count for 15s then * 4 and see if it’ matches or otherwise.
Some ppl do have high HR no matter how little they do. Look at trends and then decide if a treadmill ECG is appropriate or otherwise. Best to consult a trained professional if in doubt and peace of mind.
I’m not saying any medical opinion but Optical heart rate are subject to several factors such as wrist angle, skin color, sweat level, temperature etc etc not to everyone an not every time …
I would give a try on strap heart rate monitor …
