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?
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Former Member
But that is no where close to the norm and I do not think that someone should expect that simply because they excercise alot.
What I don't get is why you mention this. My original question was if it is true that the size of an athlete's heart increases if he has a low resting heart rate.
I never claimed that people should expect these really low heart rates from exercising. There are elite athletes with a resting heart rate around 50 and others around 30. It doesn't mean one athlete is better conditioned than the other.
All I said is that it is not uncommon to have a resting heart rate of 35 after several people denied this. Just google "Elite Athlete Resting Heart rate" and you will find loads of sites that confirm this. Maybe you don't consider Wikipedia as a good source but it just mentioned that the cyclist Miguel Indurain has the lowest heart rate on record which is a fact. Lance Armstrong's heart rate is around 32-34.
I used to also do a lot of cycling which might be a reason my heart rate was that low. I always found with mainly swimming my average resting heart rate was slightly higher than with cycling.
But that is no where close to the norm and I do not think that someone should expect that simply because they excercise alot.
What I don't get is why you mention this. My original question was if it is true that the size of an athlete's heart increases if he has a low resting heart rate.
I never claimed that people should expect these really low heart rates from exercising. There are elite athletes with a resting heart rate around 50 and others around 30. It doesn't mean one athlete is better conditioned than the other.
All I said is that it is not uncommon to have a resting heart rate of 35 after several people denied this. Just google "Elite Athlete Resting Heart rate" and you will find loads of sites that confirm this. Maybe you don't consider Wikipedia as a good source but it just mentioned that the cyclist Miguel Indurain has the lowest heart rate on record which is a fact. Lance Armstrong's heart rate is around 32-34.
I used to also do a lot of cycling which might be a reason my heart rate was that low. I always found with mainly swimming my average resting heart rate was slightly higher than with cycling.
