Do You Have a Maximum Heart Rate?

Does your heart rate have an upper limit and could you ever reach it?

Hosted by: Michael Aranda

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[musclehank]

My Heart rate usually ends up capping around 420.69 BPM during my Most extreme workouts

[WinterCactusRed]

This was very informative. I recently had a cardiac ablation done last June because my heart at rest was 180bpm. I was put on oxygen while waiting for the procedure but didn't know why. But after watching your video I have a better understanding. Thank you for your hard work.

[itisdevonly]

Yeah, that "maximum heart rate" thing always confused me, because when I was 20 it calculated to 200 bpm, but when I exercised hard, it sometimes measured as high as 240 bpm, so I didn't see how 200 could be my maximum heart rate if I'd recorded it beating faster than that. It worried me a bit, so I got a heart rate monitor to figure it out and noticed my ranges were:
up to 140 little to no perceptible effort
140-160 light effort
160-180 medium effort
180-200 intense effort
I tried not to push myself beyond that point, because after reaching about 205 bpm, my heart rate would jump straight to about 240. At 240, I had to stop exerting myself, because what you said about the heart not beating efficiently at that point was true. At 240 I'd start to feel really light-headed and tired. It felt like I wasn't getting sufficient oxygen.

[BITIBbox]

During heart palpitations, I reached 236 for around 9 hours before going to the ER. (It wasn't fun, 5/10 don't recommend)

[chainsawhank]

My chainsaw heart runs at RPMs not bpm's

[biaroca]

It was a beautiful way you explained the cardiac output formula in simple and understandable language! You even explained that if the heart rate is too fast the stroke volume is smaller because of a lack of diastole!! That's why I love scishow!

[katgen]

Me after a gym session: 172
BTMC raise my sword play: *197*

[XxDangerDaysxX]

Having SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), my maximum rate has been around 300 which is a terrifying and extremely painful experience. I'm 19 and last year I went for a walk and ended up in A&E with shots of adenosine, verapamil and then 3 shocks with a defibrillator, none of which worked, to try cardioversion to normal rhythm as my heart was beating very irregularly at around 290bpm for 3 hours. Mega fun, do recommend. (Funny thing is I'm very hypothyroid, which in theory should cause my heart to beat slower than most people's so I should consider myself lucky, imagine what it would be like if I wasn't hypothyroid!)

[Master_Therion]

No, wrong. It's only about one beet per day. Anymore, and my poop turns red.

[FiMilton]

When I did my stress test my hr was 204 within 2 mins of jogging. That felt awful, I can’t imagine what 300 feels like.

[lantzevongkorad]

When I run, I get a heart rate of 210-250 bpm. For cycling, it is the same if I push myself, but if I don't, then 170-180.

[izakast]

My heart rate usually ends up just stopping when i walk to the kitchen

[Holleaux]

Kinda freaking me out that my used to go 200+ when I working out in high school, like power-lifting, track, so on. It used to joke that I was going to turn into the Hulk because in the 2008 Hulk movie, Bruce Banner would turn into the Hulk once he hit 200 BPM. But now as I look back, it probably wasn't good for me. Now that I'm more of an endurance athlete. My average high is no more than 150 and that's when I'm freaking really going after it.

[ATeamBrown]

My grandma has heart problems and had a resting heart rate of about 250 beats per minute before taking medicine. She literally had to not run or else she probably would of had a heart attack...

[richardpowell]

If you have a heart arrhythmia like I do your maximum is around 300. a severe case of cardiac arrest follows shortly after.

[Jankolli]

I was born with something called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome where some weird thing happened to my heart that made my heartbeat shoot up to 150-200bpm just while sitting still. One time I was out running a 3km route and it happened and I thought for sure that I was going to die as my heartbeat was so insane I almost passed out.

[Hunnterk]

I'm of a rare type that can control heartbeat.
How, I don't know, but it's basically like trying to describe being blind, or color blindness. Qualia is the name for it. It's impossible to describe a sensory input, only that you agree that what you and others see is [description].
I can just control it in the same way you could lift your arm.

I remember freaking a student nurse out once by having a 210 beat while sitting in a bed.
I will always remember the look on her face lol. Hey, I was helping her, she resorted to using her hand to feel my pulse, for all she knew the electronics were faulty. She did good. Showed her after though lol
Equally back in school days in gym room, friend was peddling on bike, I'm sitting on it, I could make my heartbeat go higher than his at the maximum effort he could muster. Gym teacher laughed.

It still freaks me out even now.
I try not to do that often.
I worry I might accidentally, you know, kill myself.
Being at the 200 range regularly basically eats away at your maximum age without any real fitness gain. Hearts, the worst muscle organ.
It ain't easy being a genetic freak of an already genetic freak of nature. (humans in general)
Onward to death by 40. 9 years to go!

[Nhojneirbo]

My minimum heart rate is 55 beats per minute. My pacemaker is set to maintain that rhythm.

[ashcoates]

I can sustain 200 bpm for almost a minute while riding a bike as a 20 year old, and it always feels really euphoric

[HannibalPoptart]

Using ACSM data: For a more accurate equation, use 206.9 - (age * 0.67).

Less easy to do mentally, but slightly more accurate of an estimate.