Pulse Confusion

[member 2106]

Surely one of Ray Peat's most counter-intuitive ideas is that a generally high pulse rate is a sign of good metabolism and good health.

So much of what Ray Peat says makes intuitive sense to me, but this is one idea I'm still resistant to. My pulse is usually in a range between 65-70. I don't often have problems with cold hands or feet. I can't imagine what it would take to increase my resting heart rate to 80+ or what this would feel like.

Perhaps it's because I associate high heart rate with anxiety or panic; it's almost impossible to conceive of a state in which my heart is beating much faster but I'm CALM.

Is it possible to have good health without a pulse-rate in the range RP talks about? Can you direct me to a passage in RP's writing which convincingly explains WHY high pulse is good? Because I still don't understand it.

 

[raypeatclips]

Would you say you are in an excellent state of health at the moment?

 

[member 2106]

Would you say you are in an excellent state of health at the moment?

No, not excellent - definitely not. But okay, I think. It's genuinely hard to say because I'm wracked with anxiety/panic which is not fundamentally food related, so it's messing me around a bit.

 

[Queequeg]

I haven't seen any good research that says that higher metabolism or temps is better for you or makes you live longer. I have seen lots of studies that say the opposite. I wrote about this on another thread but got few takers. https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/thyroid-function-and-longevity.13963/#post-194923

 

[DaveFoster]

There's a difference between a pulse of 85 and 95. The difference between 75 and 85 is probably cancer for the former person in the long-run.

 

[x-ray peat]

The difference between 75 and 85 is probably cancer for the former person in the long-run.

say what? I am sure you have some research to supports this.

 

[shepherdgirl]

sometimes lower pulse is a good thing:
from
Iodine, Supplement Reactions, Hormones And More - KMUD, 2016-02-19:
Caller: I have a question for Dr Peat about Buteyko breathing and heart rate. Dr Buteyko noted that as you progress with retaining more and more Co2 with the Buteyko breathing, then the heart rate will decrease and I wondered what you thought about that. I’ve noticed that in my own practice that it does go down but the temperature is still good and I wondered if the metabolism is still good when that happens or what you think about it?

RP: Yeah, there have been experiments with animals increasing their Co2 and watching what happens to the heart and blood vessels and Co2 relaxes the blood vessels so it decreases peripheral resistance and that makes the heart able to pump more blood more easily with less work. So it usually means a bigger stroke volume.

HD2: So the decreased heart rate is a good thing.

Caller: OK, so even though it’s a lower heart rate you think that you can still get the same benefits as you would if your weren’t restricting your breathing but... I know you recommend a high heart rate typically for people that aren’t practicing that kind of breath control?

RP: Yeah, but most people are running on adrenalin and I’ve known people, one woman who had a 180 pulse steadily for years, another person had been around a 130 resting pulse for a long time, and both of these people within two weeks got down to a normal under a 100 pulse rate when they supplemented thyroid. And one of the things the thyroid is doing is increasing your Co2 and decreasing the lactic acid and the inflammation so that your capillaries open up, you have less peripheral resistance, so your heart doesn’t have to work so frantically.

transcript

 

[Ahanu]

RP: Yeah, there have been experiments with animals increasing their Co2 and watching what happens to the heart and blood vessels and Co2 relaxes the blood vessels so it decreases peripheral resistance and that makes the heart able to pump more blood more easily with less work. So it usually means a bigger stroke volume.

HD2: So the decreased heart rate is a good thing.

Caller: OK, so even though it’s a lower heart rate you think that you can still get the same benefits as you would if your weren’t restricting your breathing but... I know you recommend a high heart rate typically for people that aren’t practicing that kind of breath control?

RP: Yeah, but most people are running on adrenalin and I’ve known people, one woman who had a 180 pulse steadily for years, another person had been around a 130 resting pulse for a long time, and both of these people within two weeks got down to a normal under a 100 pulse rate when they supplemented thyroid. And one of the things the thyroid is doing is increasing your Co2 and decreasing the lactic acid and the inflammation so that your capillaries open up, you have less peripheral resistance, so your heart doesn’t have to work so frantically.

Great! Thank you for that @shepherdgirl

 

[Fon]

So... Increasing Co2 (via throid or breathing methods) Relaxes blood vessels, opens up capillaries,decreases periphral resistance allowing your heart to pump more easily and with more volume per stroke leading to a lower, healthier, pulse. Increasing Co2 decreases lactic acid which lowers inflamation so the heart works less frantically.