Coochas

I remember watching the Australian V8 Supercars when they used to have the driver's heart rate as part of the telemetry. Their rates were typical 160-180. For those who don't know HR numbers, 60-100 is a typical range for normal resting levels.

My baseline is usually 60-80. I strapped on my HR chest strap and placed my wrist monitor on the outside of my fire suit turned inwards so I could easily see it by glancing at the steering wheel. On track my HR was 130-150 so I can now officially count driving as working out.

I was driving my Atom which has no power steering and has a fairly small diameter steering wheel (i.e. it's a bit of work). It was also about 90 degrees out. I would be curious to see what my HR is on track with my 997 with the A/C on and in our Boxster. I also want to try driving the Boxster with my HR monitor on with and without the cool shirt running. I would think if you could demonstrate lower heart rates with a Cool Shirt on that the marketing would write itself.

I was surprised that my HR was that elevated driving. I'm sure it is some combination of the physical aspect of driving as well as adrenaline. We have all heard of people having heart attacks at the track. If you are someone who has unknown coronary artery disease, these high heart rates could be deadly. Indeed when patients have a treadmill cardiac stress test, the desired peak heart rates are often around 130-150.

I'm sure volumes have been written on this subject. I was just always curious what my HR was while I'm driving as opposed to checking it in the pits when it has already come down.

I could see a day when the legal aspects of our hobby require people to submit proof of cardiac clearance before tracking. Sigh.

ubercooper

around 1,300
I drink a blend of redline synthetic and franks red hot before each event

...In reality, those stats are completely normal.. an F1 driver's hr is around 190 for the whole race!

ProCoach

Dave, that's already true... For racing.

Mahler9th

I spoke with the medical director of a large sanctioning body about the mandatory EKG stuff for racers over a certain age. He is also a driver.

Although neither one of us made any investigative effort, we both felt that there is likely no strong clinical evidence that the EKG requirement is effective. Perhaps more likely driven by liability.

Sadly I have lost a couple of friends to cardiac events at race tracks, and I am sure many folks out there have as well.

There is public-domain information about the cardiovascular fitness of elite racing drivers... for example F! level. I seem to recall that some evidence suggesting fitness levels somewhat similar to elite marathon runners.

In any case, I am a big believer in "having the conversation" with an appropriate HCP for folks that may have risk.

For example, I was speaking with a fellow instructor at a meeting a few years ago. We are close in age, and started talking about health and fitness. He revealed that he has a heart condition that requires what i seem to recall is a quarterly visit with a cardiologist. He is not a racer. I asked if he had had "a conversation," and he said no!

When my wife is driving a lot, I encourage her to have a related conversation with her doctor. She does not race, but I encourage her to take the medical forms and have the conversation anyway. I suggest the same to all my friends of a certain age or with risk factors, whether they race wheel-to-wheel or not.

trygve

Heart rate ranges vary a lot depending on age & fitness etc. When I was younger and fitter, on an intense hill climb on a bicycle I think I'd hit 180 where my legs and lungs would go no faster. Now 20 years later I can't do that. I do a steady 10k run in the 150-165 range and 170 bpm is a hard sprint interval or very difficult bike climb, and that's near my limit (the legs and lungs say "no more!" before long).

Which is all leading to: Like Coochas did, out of curiousity I strapped on the heart rate monitor and put the Garmin GPS bike computer in my pocket as I hopped in the car for our PCA club race at Buttonwillow a couple of months ago. The GPS reception sucked but the HRM data was still good. The 25 minute sprint race was mostly in the 130-140 range, which for me would be an easy jog. There was a spike of 149 at the green flag -- definitely adrenaline! It seemed to generally trend downward as the race went on, with some hint of an up and down cycle each lap, but I can't align it to high speed corners which I would have expected (not sure how quickly the HRM calculates the "current" heart rate). Anyway ... I found it interesting. Link to data here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/183064562

(No, the SPB did not go 264 MPH , and no, I did not go off course on most laps! A bike computer in the pocket can't track the car position very well at all.)

ProCoach

All true, the former sadly...

Coochas

Unfortunately an EKG will often be normal since it is taken with a resting heart rate. It is when the heart is stressed that there would be changes in an EKG.

We see this frequently in pre op visits for surgery where a patient will have a normal EKG but give a history suggestive of cardiac disease. We have these patients receive stress tests and they are often abnormal.

I am NOT pro mandating any testing for recreational drivers but I wonder if the risks to drivers should be made more apparent.

Anyhow, I'm just glad I can count it as workout time!!!!!!!

KOAN

Dave,

Thanks for posting the info. I am curious about my own, but have no way of recording. Any ideas for a cheap recording device?

car_slave

Driving is a good reason to stay in shape! I think the pros workout a lot to keep their weight down and increase endurance. You don't gain any fitness from driving. It's just a lot of stress and heat which is a proven killer.

Pop a few aspirin for insurance if you're concerned. I ask all my structors take one before they go out with me (that part was a joke).

Coochas

I use a Timex Ironman which was about 100 bucks. It's a watch and a chest strap and has many more features than I could ever use. The watch strap is generous so it fit over the sleeve of my Sparco. I bought the watch to help me maintain HR while biking. I'm sure there are cheaper versions.

richard glickel

Hey Doc,

Don't know whether it's as significant as heart rate, but isn't b/p important too?

E.g., at LRP a few years back, I stuffed a car into the tire wall at the bottom of the downhill during a DE. I was unharmed, car was totaled. In the mandatory visit to the medical hut my b/p per the EMT was 120/80 - perfect. I have no idea what my pulse was by the time they read my b/p (about 10mins post-occurrence). Under the circumstances, I was pleasantly surprised. In contrast, after getting taken out by an idiot on the front straight at a NASA race 2 years ago, my b/p (again, read about 10-12 mins after the hit) was 182/90! I was fine, but I'll admit that b/p bothered me.

Dave in Chicago

I've done the HR Monitor thing with similar results.

About 2 years ago I was discussing this with a leading Top Fuel Dragster Pro driver. He practices a bit of zen calming prior to launch. Gets his HR back down to about 70 before the tree lights up!

Impressive.

AtlJimK

RHR=52 MaxHR=202 AT=174 (Polar S720i w/PPP software, manually synchronized with video)
Done as a test to validate my hypothesis that driving was in the lower end of the HR ranges, for me and as a part of another RL thread on HR and track environments>



oh yeah, and ignore me taking my hand off the wheel after passing....

Coochas

Your bp goes up as well with exertion. In your case I would guess it was the bonehead who punted you that got your pressure up!

Coochas

Now THAT is cool.