Why does my heart rate randomly go up past 100 bps

A heart rate briefly going over 100, even while resting, is very common and doesn’t point to a heart problem, even if there’s some chest discomfort.

Your heart rate comes back down, right? That’s a good sign. If there were a serious issue, it wouldn’t fluctuate like that.

Honestly, that kind of pattern means your heart is responding and regulating itself the way it’s supposed to.

@ashlynnmae
I mean it was that high for an hour. Does that count as brief?

@ehdog
Yes, that can still be considered brief, and what I said still applies.

Hello ehgog. I have some heart things going on, so I checked out your question. I would look at what your baseline heart rate is, in comparison to what it went up to. There are different clinical reasons to take propranolol. There are different side effects, including an irregular heart rate. Chest pain is NOT on that list. Propranolol has some easily missed drug interactions. How long have you been taking the medication? Has this happened before? Did you have pre-established A-fib? Lots of questions...... chest pain is never normal..... especially at age 27. You might want to consider having a chat with your primary care Doc. Take in a list of symptoms, timing, and circumstances. Good luck!
UPArtist

You stated while resting chilling out your heart rate is at 100 or above.
I know I could be doing the same thing, but my brain is going 100 miles an hour and I end up thinking about something that stresses me and my heart rate could go up chilling out as you say
I would talk to your doctor and do a diary of every time this happens to you or just normal every day things
That will help your doctor and to figure it out
Wish you the

A resting heart rate above 100 is NOT normal. https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/heart/high-resting-heart-rate

Not for anything over a quick run of triplets or so that a typical tachyarrhythmia offers. For those with simple and paroxysmal tachycardia (rate of 100 BPM but quickly self-limiting and it returns to normal speeds inside of a few seconds) there is usually no need to worry. As always, if it rises in frequency, you get it checked out and dealt with......earlier rather than letting it progress.

Why did you take Propranolol ? On whose instructions, and for what purpose was it prescribed? This is important for me to understand if you don't really need to see a cardiologist. But I would still run this by a cardiologist, and soon.

Hi @ehdog I am glad to see you post here on Mayo Clinic Connect. Welcome!

No one here is a substitute for contacting a doctor. We are not medical advice. Having said that I want to provide some information you may find helpful. According to Mayo Clinic Tachycardia (tak-ih-KAHR-dee-uh) is the medical term for a heart rate over 100 beats a minute. Having said this, there are many reasons your heart rate could randomly go up past 100 and it is important that you rule out serious causes. I am including a link to more information if you have not seen it:

- Mayo Clinic Tachycardia Overview
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tachycardia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355127
How long have you been experiencing chest pain and unexplained heart rate increases? Do you have a doctor you can discuss your symptoms with?