Hiiiiiiii feathers! Oh how I've missed you all!

I know its been awhile; I've been soooo busy with school! I got into the Sonography program. Wahhoo!! Sorry I cant do personals right now or really update you all but I had a quick question.

Today in class they were scanning me (we scan and are scanned everyday for lab hours) and the instructor was taken back by how slow my heart looked on the ultrasound screen. She called in the other instructors and then put the doppler on my heart to see the heart rate. It ended up being 41. She was a little concerned because that is really low. But she asked the CVT specialist and she said if I normally have a slower heart rate it should be nothing to worry about if there are no symptoms associated. BUt i am a little concerned by this only because I do sometimes feel the "flutter" of the heart and my doc heard a heart murmur at my last doc visit. Also, I do feel like I need to take deep breathes frequently (although this could just be stress). They also asked if I was a runner .I guess runners have slower heart beats?

Does anyone else have this low of a heart rate? I am truly a little concerned...

It might be directly related to your eating choices. Slow heart rate and arrhythmia are commonly associated with starvation; In fact, when I did a google search to try to give you something to look at, most of the hits wanted to send me to anorexia websites. I guess this is what kills most anorexics. (Definitely not implying that you are!!!) Very low calorie or protein diets may lead to weakening of the body's muscles, including the heart, which results in the slowing and irregularity of the heartbeat. Are you/have you been a vegetarian perhaps (one that neglected to get enough protein?). Have you ever been on a very low calorie diet? Do you have trouble with physical stamina, fatigue, or lightheadedness?

Of course, some athletes will naturally have hb of <60, especially runners. If this topic didn't come up in a weight loss forum, I wouldn't worry as much, but perhaps the two are related.

And, of course, I'm not a doctor, so all I'm saying here is that you should think about going to one. The last thing you should do is panic because of something you read online.

If your doctor heard a heart murmur then you should have that checked out. It may be related to your bradycardia. I'm not a doctor but I work side by side with doctors as I'm a nurse and see many patients with heart murmurs or low heart rates. If indeed it is your baseline then there shouldn't be any concerns. However, my concern is your heart murmur. You should go to the doctor. They may order an ECHO to check your heart out. My daughter had a heart murmur at birth and it's not something that should be taken lightly.

Kelly It is not due to anorexia. I have never been anorexic or had any eating disorder. I eat between 1400-2500 calories a day.

Ryler My doctor said the heart murmur was nothing and very common. He said he almost didnt want to tell me because it is so nothing to worry about. He said they happen all the time. So I dont think he'll be wanting to order an echo for me. Does your daughter have a slower heart rate?

I have felt a flutter sometimes too. It happens maybe every few months for just 1-3 seconds. One time in high school my doctor thought she heard something when listening to my heartbeat and had an EKG (or was it ECG?) done. It came back normal and that was that.

It could be worth seeing a doctor just to check things out. Better to be safe than sorry

Once I gave blood and my heart rate was 49 and the nurse asked if I was a runner also, I am, and he wrote on my form «althletic» as the reason for my low heart rate : ... DH is not a runner but bikes a lot and a few months ago his heart rate was low too... Sooo, if you're in good shape this could be why you have a low heart rate and that's good...

My daughter's heart rate was low but then it changed now that she has had surgery. Sometimes they're harmless and times they are a cause for concern. Maybe you just have a low heart rate baseline. Mine sits in the lower 60's all the time and that is the low end of "normal" according to the books.

Personally i would start tracking your heart rate for a little bit, to see if its normally "low" or if this was just a random occurrence.
The number that is "average" is picked because its the majority. Not being in that majority doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong, but i would monitor it and if there are inconsistencies in your heart rate, or if you find that on the days that your heart is slow you have other symptoms (maybe you are especially tired, or dizzy, or something else) on these days, than i would talk to your doctor.

Just my opinion on what i would do. Like everyone else, im no doctor. And of course, it can never HURT you to go to the doctor and talk to them about it.

As long as you don't feel tired all the time or have trouble exercising then it isn't a problem. Yes, it's quite low but the murmur plus athleticism make it possible. Myself, I had a heart rate in the low 50s as a moderately athletic teen. I set off all the alarms on the machines due to it when I was in for surgery. Today after losing the weight I hover at around 50 when moving around, if resting or sitting in lab like you were, the 40s would definitely be possible.

Low heart rate in athletics is caused by the heart becoming stronger and more efficient in pumping blood to your body. In anorexics it is due to lack of energy to run the muscle. Which is not your problem, Dianne

Dianne- That's why I said in my post that I'm not suggesting you are, then asked if you might be vegetarian and getting too little protein, or maybe you've been on a VLC (Very Low Calorie) diet in the past.

Thank you everyone for replying! My instructor spoke with the CVT specialist and she said its nothing to worry about! I think for now, until I show other signs, Ill just monitor it and not make any big actions.

Kelly - I'm sorry; I did understand your post, I Just forgot to answer that part. I eat sufficient carbs and protein. I usually have around 80g of protein and 130-150g of carbs on a 1400-1500 calorie day.

Thanks again everyone! Hope you all are doing well on your journey to of weight loss!!

its a symptom if dieting down
ive had ambient HR of as low as 39 BPM<. YES some of it is related to being a ruinner, and being in great shape, but not as much as youd think.... your HR slows down because youre body has been metabolically adapting to low caloreis...... it literally SLOWS DOW.... many times peoples basal temp will be lower as well... its how your body reacts after a while of dieting... it realizes you "arent" going o be eating more, so, it starts shutting down none necessary functions, and slowing others in an effort to be "more efficient"


Of course, i AM NOT A DOCTOR, and with the heart murmur thing......

It's EXCELLENT to have a low heart rate. I always heard that if you are an athlete, your heart beat slower. It's a muscle, and if it's well entrained, it can push more blood in one beat than a sedentary person.

I have a question to the experts if you eat less and exercise more, and your heart slows down... what happens when you binge all of a sudden? heart attack? I feel like sometimes I can feel my heart in my chest pounding harder even though my bpm is 60 (normal)...although maybe a little faster than it normally is. ?

I guess I'm asking: how flexible is the heart and the cardiac system?