Years ago, I saw I had a resting heart rate of 48. Recently I was asked about it again, and when I tried to check it, never saw it dip below 60-something.
A few friends got heart rate monitors for Christmas, and I was surprised to see several of them with resting heart rates well below my own. Certainly they’re healthy and fit, but it was still a bit of a surprise to see that mine was higher. (Disclaimer: it’s still great according to sources, but I expect it to be lower) And while I know I can function with my heart rate quite high for an extended period of time, I wanted to consider why it is as it is.
Last year when I had a physical, I was told I have borderline high blood pressure. I already do many of the behaviors that can be used to manage this: I’m not overweight, I exercise, and I don’t smoke. But I’ve recently started thinking that I’d do well to look at limiting my sodium.
Tonight I did a little research on resting heart rate, and as I suspected, there is a possible link between high blood pressure and a high resting heart rate. Some of the other possible causes include:
* Heart Disease
* Congenital Heart Defects
* Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
* Heavy Consumption of Alcohol
* Smoking
* Heavy Caffeine Intake
* Hyperthyroidism
* Electrolyte Imbalance
* Consumption of Recreational Drugs Like Cocaine
* Reaction to Medicinal Drugs
* Extreme Stress and Anxiety
Not a lot of those are relevant, but a few could be (stress, high blood pressure, caffeine?). So, I’m going to work on my nutrition just for overall better health. I’ve actually never been a table salt user, so I’m not terribly concerned about that. Interestingly enough once I started running I actually started eating salty snacks more, but I just may dial that back 
