Bradycardia is a heart rate of fewer than 50 beats per minute. Some say it is a rate of fewer than 60 beats per minute.
Trained endurance athletes usually have lower heart rates. I’ve heard some boast of rates in the 30s beats per minute.
A low rate is not necessarily good. With lower rates, less blood gets to the brain, and there is a better chance of clotting. Less blood to the brain will affect cognitive processes.
When in the hospital, doctors kept warning me of blood clots. A clot in the heart can cause heart attacks, in the brain a stroke, and pulmonary embolisms in the lungs. PE will reduce oxygen in the blood, potentially killing tissues.
Could Damar Hamlin’s coronary event be blood-clot related? We’ve never been told what caused the issue. Watching the incidence and reading of others’ heart attack experiences, there were no forewarnings.
Some assume it was from a 1 in 3 million hit to the heart. However, back in high school, the front of my shoulder pads came down to my sternum. It may not have been a game-related issue.
Fortunately, Hamlin had quick access to medical care. There are more coronary events at marathons every year than at NFL games.
I wore a sleep pulse/oxygen monitor on August 31, 2022. My lowest rate was 38 beats per minute. We’re assuming I was already in A-Fib during this test.
Post A-Fib, I did a multi-sensor sleep study on December 12, 2022. I went through five sleep cycles in just over five hours. My lowest rate was 50, with an average of 60 beats per minute. I was on blood thinners.
My pulse may not be as low as in my younger years. Should I be more worried about slowing down or coding?