Can I run a marathon with a heart rate of 37 beats per minute?

I am 32 years old this year. I recently had a routine health check-up organized by my company and the electrocardiogram result was 37 beats/minute. I was quite surprised by this result. The first time I had an electrocardiogram was in 2023, the result was about 44 beats/minute. Doctor, can you tell me if this heart rate is dangerous? Currently, my body does not show any strange symptoms. I am an active person, often jogging in the morning and participating in marathons. Thank you, doctor!

(Mr. Duy Tuan, residing in Trang Dai ward, Bien Hoa city)

Doctor replied:

Hello!

The normal resting heart rate in humans is 60-100 times/minute. It is called bradycardia when the heart rate is below 60 times/minute (or according to some documents, bradycardia is called <50 times/minute).

The cause of bradycardia is often due to dysfunction of the impulse generation system or the conduction system in the heart (sinus node, atrioventricular node, bundle of His, Purkinje network). Some cases of bradycardia can be physiological (for example, in athletes, people who regularly do high-intensity physical activities). Some types of bradycardia have a good prognosis and may not require treatment, but some types of bradycardia can be dangerous and require active treatment and intervention.

According to your description, your body has absolutely no symptoms, and you can do physical activities such as running marathons regularly, so it could be physiological bradycardia. However, to confirm it accurately, you should go to a cardiologist for a more complete and detailed assessment, as well as do the necessary tests and paraclinical tests to rule out pathological bradycardia.

MD, PhD Nguyen Van Toi,

Department of Cardiovascular Intervention, Dong Nai General Hospital

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/alo--bac-si-oi/202505/nhip-tim-37-nhipphut-co-tham-gia-chay-marathon-duoc-khong-2704a9d/