When I was still a student nurse, about twenty years ago, we were taught that a very low heart rate could be a cause for concern, as it might mean the heart isn’t pumping enough oxygen-rich blood to the body. A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60-100 beats per minute (bpm). Anything below that is called bradycardia (yep, that's a Biology lesson nobody asked for. You're welcome). So whenever a patient's heart rate dropped below 60 during our routine vital signs rounds, we would freak out and notify the nurse on duty.
Fast forward to our late 30s, Jan and I got ourselves smart watches. And ever since, he's been keeping a close eye on our vitals. It started with counting the steps, then tracking activity levels, sleep score, then the heart rate and VO2 max. I really didn't think much about that. But I do remember having a resting heart rate of 80-90 bpm, seven to eight months ago. Yep, pretty normal.
But nowadays, my resting heart rate has been on a slow, steady decline. It gradually went from 90 to 80 to 70. And lately, it hovers between 50 and 60 bpm. This would have freaked me out but nope, I’m aiming to push it just a bit lower, maybe under 50. My goal is to piss off the heart rate monitor if it ever gets hooked to me (not that I want to be admitted to the hospital). I want to hear it panic because my heart is too chill.
 |
| Another reason to start running: outfits! Wait 'til I find the best croptop sport fits. Haha |
I am aware that my watch's health data are not as accurate as clinical or medical-grade instruments, but studies indicate that the Apple Watch measurements are sufficiently reliable for general health monitoring purposes. So yes, I know something good is happening to my heart ever since I started running. Jan and I have even been comparing data and our progress have been very evident.
I'm probably developing an athlete's heart. They say that regular cardio strengthens the heart muscle, enabling it to pump more blood with each beat. This means that the heart doesn't need to work as hard to get the job done (I wish I could say the same in life).
My heart is getting strong. Probably too strong that losing this year's Palanca Awards didn't get my heart broken. Which is kind of a shame, because a broken heart would’ve been the perfect excuse to buy new running shoes.
P.S. Yes, wala na akong ibang mablog. Running is pretty much all there is in my life now, including running out of money. 😅
Comments
Post a Comment