How high can your rate go..?!
Question: MY question is I have had periods of high heart rate heck I had one today..But someone just told me the heart can't take rates above 180 for long without 'exploding' or 'failing' is this true?
Answers: MY question is I have had periods of high heart rate heck I had one today..But someone just told me the heart can't take rates above 180 for long without 'exploding' or 'failing' is this true?
it depends on how old you are and how good of shape you're in. the younger you are, and the better shape you're in the higher it can safely go. I'm 18 and when I exercise I get it up to 210-220 for 5-10 minutes fine, but I also run about 30 miles a week. For your average person, 200 is a stretch.
however, the "heart exploding" will not happen for those who are out of shape, because if they are exercising to get their heart rate up to that level, and aren't in shape, their lungs won't be able to keep up and they will black out because of too much CO2 and not enough oxygen before their heart gives.
here is a nice graph for heart rates by age
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Exerc...
It is true that a sudden redlining of your heart rate could do severe damage. As far as how high it can safely go - it all depends on your age and physical condition.
I am 32, when I do cardio at the gym, I shoot for a target heart rate of 140-160, and I try not to get higher than 165.
If you