165 pulse just from walking?

[Pierrce]

So a little background on me. I’m 25, 6’1, 150 lbs. I work a desk job an am not very active. I walk a little over a mile, up hill, to work everyday. The last few days I’ve been checking my pulse at the top of the hill and it’s usually around 145-165. I should also mention I generally have a very fast pace when walking and carry around 10-15lbs worth of stuff on my back. 

Is this common for this level of movement? I feel like it shouldnt be quite this high. I’m usually pretty out of breath too at the top.

Another concerning moment I had was my HR hit 130 just from walking up 1 fight of stairs. It returned to 90 within a minute or two, but I’m just trying to figure out if I should get checked out at a clinic. 

[JohnnyRow]

Of course I have to say, if in doubt, get it checked.

But, at age 25, your estimated max heart rate is (220-25) = 195

Pulse of 165 is 85% of max heart rate, right at the boundary between cardio and peak heart rate zones.  145 is 74% of max rate, towards the lower end of the cardio zone.  Walking very fast, uphill, carrying extra weight, those heart rates sound totally reasonable to me, assuming you are pushing yourself and not just taking an easy walk.

For more on heart rate zones, see What are heart rate zones?

[Pierrce]

Thanks for the feedback. I do generally push myself and walk as fast as possible. I’ll probably still go In for a physical just to be safe. Have a deviated septum too that makes it pretty difficult to breath; which probably doesn’t help with the high heart rate during exercise. 

[Colinm39]

@PierrceAt 25 you are thinking about things that would never have occurred to us Seniors. Now with all of the aids we become concerned and my GP gets annoyed because we ask questions.... A friend of mine, same age as me, had a septum issue similar to yours and I would definitely take the advice from your GP, especially if your experiencing breathing issues because that may affect your oxygen uptake....

As @JohnnyRow mentioned, get tested, but if your family history is clear of heart issues and you don't feel dizzy or chest pains, I'm sure what you are feeling/observing is a healthy 25 year young person.

In 2002, well before Fitbit, my GP passed away, and my new GP (current GP), new clinic, wanted a baseline for my health. I was 63 then, planning my retirement and all of the stuff your parents are now worrying about.  I retired at 70....

He sent me to a Sports Medicine Clinic for a treadmill stress test with full Aerobic and Anaerobic testing. This opened my mind up to VO2Max, RHR, ECG's resting and exercise, Recovery Heart Rate, muscle tightness , Pronation, Flexibility, sleep, spine and nerve tightness and a myriad of other medical terms. Since then I have always regularly and randomly checked my Recovery Heart Rate and found that as an excellent tool for my fitness as I aged.  My RHR was 52 at that test and now moves between 52-55..  Just before the test finished, the tester wanted me to go for another 2 minutes because his testing showed I was getting extra oxygen.  That was the day I found out what my genes were all about. I was never a sprinter, but could walk, jog all day if I wanted.

So all of that was 2002 and then in 2011, I "found' Fitbit. and started to compare the data sets.

The photo is me having the stress test and I'm 10% heavier in that than my current weight in my 80th year.  The graph shows the recovery Heart Rate over the years and amazingly the curve of the moving average remains about the same as I aged.. Lower MaxHR of course.

In 2013 I did a Challenge on Fitbit Community Site to climb at least 105 floors to commemorate the 9/11 disaster in New York, I stopped at 112. . My heart rate peaked at 147 and because the test was on the stairs shown at our local athletic track, it was like HiiT training because it was a relax on the way down but I always managed 2 floors each climb. I used a Polar chest device in those days. So these are the things our Fitbits have allowed us to experiment with and achieve.

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@Pierrce wrote:

Thanks for the feedback. I do generally push myself and walk as fast as possible. I’ll probably still go In for a physical just to be safe. Have a deviated septum too that makes it pretty difficult to breath; which probably doesn’t help with the high heart rate during exercise. 

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[emili]

@Pierrce...for sure get checked out just so the GP can tell you, you are fine and to keep moving. The more you move the fitter you will be, the fitter your heart will be.