Does a low heart rate always mean an enlarged heart size?
Former Member
I was having this discussion with someone who says that a person with a low resting heart rate automatically has an enlarged heart.
I once had my heart checked. While my resting heart rate was around 35 bpm, my heart size was rather average. I recently read something that said that an athlete does NOT automatically have an enlarged heart.
I can't find that article anymore.
Does anyone know in what way a low heart rate has to do with the size of your heart and if all swimmers have larger hearts than average people?
I'm not a doctor nor any sort of medical professional, so I'm speaking as a everyday person from personal experience.
When I'm in shape, I tend to have a low resting heart rate. 40 years ago, it tended to be under 50 beats per minute when checked first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. As I have started to get back into shape since I started masters in October 2007, my resting heart rate has fallen from the low 60s to the mid 50s, suggesting that a single stroke of the heart muscle is able to pump more blood. My blood pressure, meanwhile, has tended to fall into the normal range as I swam more. A variety of medical imaging tests, conducted both before and after I started swimming masters, showed no enlargement of my heart muscle. My personal experience tells me the answer to this question is: no, the two should be unrelated.
I'm not a doctor nor any sort of medical professional, so I'm speaking as a everyday person from personal experience.
When I'm in shape, I tend to have a low resting heart rate. 40 years ago, it tended to be under 50 beats per minute when checked first thing in the morning, before getting out of bed. As I have started to get back into shape since I started masters in October 2007, my resting heart rate has fallen from the low 60s to the mid 50s, suggesting that a single stroke of the heart muscle is able to pump more blood. My blood pressure, meanwhile, has tended to fall into the normal range as I swam more. A variety of medical imaging tests, conducted both before and after I started swimming masters, showed no enlargement of my heart muscle. My personal experience tells me the answer to this question is: no, the two should be unrelated.
