“How do I lower my heart rate?”

The best way to lower your heart rate is physical training. The reason that world class athletes have extremely low heart rate is because their whole body and skeletal muscle is in such good condition that it requires much less oxygen at rest and is able to deliver tremendous amounts of blood flow during exercise. World-class athletes like an NBA player or a marathon runner often has a resting heart rate in the 30s. One should also be careful to check things like your thyroid function to make sure that your thyroid is not overactive. There are other rare things that could raise your heart rate. There are medications that can lower your heart rate such as beta-blockers which could be an option if you’re having palpitations from high heart rate.

Heart rate can depend on fitness, sometimes due to too high thyroid hormone, some rhythm disorders, but also it can vary quite normally from 60 to 80-90 and still be normal. There is nothing you can do to slow it down unless there is a cause and see your doctor to discuss this.

Regards,

Gerald Lewis, MD