“At what heart rate should you go to the hospital?”
My 16 year old son has an accelerated heart rate sometimes, even when he's resting. I want to know at what heart rate should you go to the hospital?
2 Answers
It all depends. He should go see his primary care doctor and if indicated then see a cardiologist. I am not a fan of waiting to go to the emergency room unless there’s is an emergency. I would recommend going there if the heart rate stay 130 beats or higher or if there is palpitation with other symptoms such as chest pain, SOB, Dizziness or feeling like you are going to pass out! Also if the blood pressure is low below 100 mm Hg systolic
A good rule of thumb is your maximum heart rate is approximately 220 minus your age. This means your son’s maximum heart rate would be just over 200 beats per minute. Most people exercise around 60-85% of their maximum which would be between 120-170 bpm. You can go higher than this but you can’t maintain it very long. If you son has sudden onset and sudden termination of a heart rate that is too fast to count you should probably see your primary care doctor and/or a pediatric cardiologist
