You’re sitting quietly when you notice your heart beating a little faster than usual. Maybe your watch has shown a higher resting number, or perhaps you can feel a flutter that wasn’t there before.
Some weight-management medicines that act on GLP-1 pathways have been associated with increases in heart rate. That doesn’t mean every change comes from your medicine. It does mean a new or persistent change is worth discussing with the clinician who knows your health history.
What does “resting heart rate” mean?
It’s the number of times your heart beats in a minute while you’re resting. Your heart rate can change through the day with movement, stress, illness, caffeine, sleep and other factors. A reading taken just after hurrying up the stairs isn’t the same as one taken while you’re sitting quietly.
A wearable can make trends easy to notice, but it isn’t a diagnosis. Fit, movement and the device’s method can affect a reading. If a number surprises you, ask your care team how they would like you to check it and what information would be useful to bring.
You don’t need to keep checking every few minutes. The goal is to have a useful conversation, not to turn your watch into another source of worry.
What did the studies find?
In adult weight-management trials of Wegovy injections, people receiving semaglutide had an average resting-heart-rate increase of about one to four beats per minute compared with placebo. Some participants had larger changes at individual visits. An average does not tell you what will happen to any one person.
In two studies of Zepbound, which contains tirzepatide, the average heart rate increased by about one to three beats per minute in the treatment groups, compared with no average increase in the placebo groups.
Those findings are specific to the products and studies described. They don’t establish an identical effect for every GLP-1 product, and a study average does not tell you what your own pulse should be.
A number and a sensation are both worth mentioning
Tell your prescriber promptly if you notice a racing heartbeat or palpitations while resting, or a sustained increase from your usual resting rate. You might describe whether it feels fast, pounding, fluttering or irregular; when it started; how long it lasts; and whether it happens again.
Mention other symptoms and anything that changed around the same time, including illness, trouble drinking, a new medicine or a change in your usual routine. There are several possible explanations, and a clinician can help work out what needs attention.
For Wegovy, the care plan includes regular heart-rate checks, and a sustained increase may mean the prescriber needs to stop treatment. Don’t make a dose change based on a single watch reading; contact the prescribing team for instructions.
Know when to get help now
If a racing or irregular heartbeat comes with chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting or feeling as though you may pass out, call 911 or seek emergency help. Don’t wait to collect more readings or assume it’s a routine medication effect.
If the sensation has stopped but was new or keeps returning, contact a healthcare professional for advice. They may ask about your medical history, medicines and symptoms and decide whether a heart-rhythm check or other evaluation is appropriate.
What about blood pressure and heart health?
Heart rate and blood pressure are different measurements. A change in one doesn’t explain the other, and neither number alone tells the whole story about cardiovascular health.
Some studies of semaglutide have also examined cardiovascular outcomes in specific groups. That research answers a different question from whether your resting pulse has changed. Our guide to GLP-1 heart-health headlines explains how to look at the population and outcome.
Bring the reading or describe the feeling at follow-up, along with the name of your medicine and any other treatments you take. A clear description helps your care team decide what the change means for you.