Your Maximum Heart Rate
The rate at which your heart is beating when it is working its hardest to meet your body’s oxygen needs is your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate plays a major role in setting your aerobic capacitythe amount of oxygen you are able to consume. Several large observational studies have indicated that a high aerobic capacity is associated with a lower risk of heart attack and death. And a small controlled trial demonstrated that men and women with mild cognitive impairment who raised their aerobic capacity also improved their performance on tests of memory and reasoning.
How Do I Calculate My Maximum Heart Rate
That is why it is easier to say that a safe upper limit is 60% to 90% of your maximum heart rate rather than us trying to provide you with a specific number. If you want a general idea of what your maximum exercise heart rate should be, then you take 220 and subtract your age.
That is the maximum rate your heart should beat while exercising. If you are exceeding that amount, then you are working too hard and need to back off until your rate is 60% to 90% of that level.
When it comes to exercising, you want your heart rate to go up. The goal is not to keep your heart rate down, something that many people dont understand. You want your resting heart rate to be low, not your exercising heart rate.
You really want your heart rate to be elevated and if you arent achieving an increase of at least 50% of your maximum heart rate, then you arent benefiting like you should from your exercises.
As you get into better shape, you want to try to achieve 90% of your maximum heart rate to get the most benefit from your exercises.
What Is An Irregular Pulse
An irregular pulse is when the heart doesn’t beat in a regular, steady rhythm. This is also called an irregular heart rate or an arrhythmia.
If your heart rate is irregular, you may notice that your pulse:
- seems irregular or is ‘jumping around’
- is racing, even when you’re at rest
- seems unusually slow some or most of the time.
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What Treatments Are Available
Treatment for ventricular tachycardia involves managing any disease that causes the condition. These treatments may improve or prevent the abnormal heart rhythm from returning. In emergency situations, CPR, electrical defibrillation and IV medications may be needed to slow the heart rate. Nonemergency treatment usually includes radiofrequency catheter ablation or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator .
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation
Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a procedure performed by a cardiac electrophysiologist, which is a cardiologist who specializes in treating patients with heart rhythm disorders. In the first part of the procedure, the doctor uses electrophysiology techniques to pinpoint the location in the heart where the abnormal rhythm begins. In the second step, the doctor uses a catheter with a special tip that emits a high-frequency form of electrical current. The current is used to destroy a tiny amount of tissue in the area of the ventricle where the abnormal rhythm begins. This is called an ablation procedure.
Ablation of ventricular tachycardia has a long history of safety and success. For some patients, ablation completely cures the abnormal rhythm, and no other treatment is needed. Ablation can also improve treatment with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
Medications
Follow-up Care
How Exercise Reduces Your Resting Heart Rate
When you do aerobic exercise, blood flow is directed toward the muscles you’re using and away from areas that aren’t doing much . There is increased blood flow as well as an increase in the volume of blood returning to the heart. Over time, the left ventricle adapts and enlarges to accommodate the increased volume. This larger cavity can hold more blood, and ejects more blood per beat, even at rest your resting heart rate drops because each beat delivers a bigger burst of blood, and fewer beats are needed.
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What The Experts Do
Monitor Heart Rate for Motivation
For Johns Hopkins cardiologist Michael Blaha, M.D., M.P.H., most workoutstake place on an elliptical trainer in his home. His machine has electrodeson which he can place his hands to automatically see his heart rate. Itgives me a sense of how hard Im working, he says.
Blaha also uses his targeted heart rate to guide the course that heprogrammed into the machine, so that he works up to where he wants to be interms of exertion. Knowing your target heart rate and trying to achieve itcan be very motivating, he says.
Stay on Top of Your Heart Health
If you have a new or existing heart problem, it’s vital to see a doctor. Our heart health checklist can help you determine when to seek care.
Increase In Resting Heart Rate Is A Signal Worth Watching
- By Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
When you sit quietly, your heart slips into the slower, steady pace known as your resting heart rate. An increase in your resting heart rate over time may be a signal of heart trouble ahead.
Your heart rate changes from minute to minute. It depends on whether you are standing up or lying down, moving around or sitting still, stressed or relaxed. Your resting heart rate, though, tends to be stable from day to day. The usual range for resting heart rate is anywhere between 60 and 90 beats per minute. Above 90 is considered high.
Many factors influence your resting heart rate. Genes play a role. Aging tends to speed it up. Regular exercise tends to slow your heart rate down. Stress, medications, and medical conditions also influence your resting heart rate.
Results of observational research studies support a link between health and heart rate. Researchers from Norway previously reported the results of a large study looking at changes in resting heart rate over 10 years. They recruited more than 29,000 people without any history or heart disease, high blood pressure, or any other type of cardiovascular disorder, and measured their resting heart rates when they started the study and again 10 years later. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
How to lower your resting heart rate
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What To Expect At The Doctors
Your doctor may use a variety of diagnostic tools to help diagnose your condition, including:
- Electrocardiogram. Also referred to as an ECG or EKG, this diagnostic tool uses small electrodes to record the electrical activity of your heart. Your doctor can use the information collected to determine if heart abnormalities are contributing to your condition.
- Imaging tests. Imaging can be used to assess if there are any structural abnormalities in your heart that may be contributing to your condition. Possible imaging tests can include echocardiogram, CT scan, and MRI scan.
- Laboratory tests. Your doctor may order blood tests to determine if your condition is caused by something such as an electrolyte imbalance or thyroid disease.
Once a diagnosis is made, your doctor will work with you to develop a plan to treat and manage your condition.
Depending on the findings from the diagnostic tests, your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist. A cardiologist specializes in treating and preventing diseases of the heart and circulatory system.
High ‘resting’ Heart Rate And Odds Of Early Death
But more research is needed before this can used as a marker, expert says
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Nov. 23, 2015 — A rapid “resting” heartbeat might mean you have a higher risk of dying early, researchers suggest.
“Higher resting heart rate is an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular death,” said lead researcher Dr. Dongfeng Zhang, of the department of epidemiology at the Medical College of Qingdao University in Shandong, China.
Your resting heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats a minute. When you’re seated or lying down and relaxed, a normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats a minute, according to the American Heart Association.
Zhang’s team analyzed 46 studies involving more than 2 million patients in all. Compared to people with the lowest resting heart rate, those with a resting heart rate of more than 80 beats a minute had a 45 percent greater risk of death from any cause, while people with a resting heart rate of 60 to 80 beats a minute had a 21 percent greater risk, they found.
However, Zhang said the absolute risk is small — that is, the odds of any one person dying from a rapid resting heart rate are low, he said. Also, the study doesn’t prove that heart rate actually caused premature deaths it merely finds an association between the two.
You can check your heart rate by putting your finger over your pulse and counting the number of beats in 60 seconds, the heart association says.
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Using A System Of Perceived Activity
If you prefer, you can also use a system of perceived activity to help determine your target exercise level. This system essentially works by having you rate, on a scale from six to 20 , how tired you feel during a given activity. If youre exercising, how difficult does it feel? The more tired you feel, the higher the rating. It will take some experimenting to develop your personal rating scale. Once you have a rough scale in place, your target range corresponds to a rating of about 12 to 14.
How To Measure Heart Rate
Measuring your heart rate is easy to do if you follow some simple steps. The easiest place to measure your heart rate is on your wrist, just below the base of the thumb. Place your index and middle fingers between the bone and tendon at the base of your thumb. Once you feel your pulse, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds. Once youve counted how many pulses, youll multiply that number by four. This gives you the total amount of times your heart beats in one minute. For example, if your heart beats 18 times in 15 seconds, your heart rate is 72 beats per minute.
Its important to measure your heart rate when youre in a relaxed state. If you take your pulse after any strenuous activity, you wont get an accurate reading. You should wait for one to two hours after exercising to take your resting heart rate, and an hour after consuming caffeine, according to Harvard Health.
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How To Lower Your Resting Heart Rate
In general, people who are more fit and less stressed are more likely to have a lower resting heart rate. A few lifestyle changes can help you slow it down:
- Exercise regularly. It raises your pulse for a while, but over time, exercise makes your heart stronger so it works better.
- Eat right. Losing weight may slow your resting heart rate. And studies have found lower heart rates in men who eat more fish.
- Tackle stress. Set aside time to disconnect from electronic devices and relax each day. Meditation, tai chi, and breathing exercises can also help.
- Stop smoking. Itâs one of the best things you can do for your overall health.
How Do I Get My Heart Rate In The Target Zone
When you work out, are you doing too much or not enough? Theres a simple way to know: Your target heart rate helps you hit the bullseye so you can get max benefit from every step, swing and squat. Even if youre not a gym rat or elite athlete, knowing your heart rate can help you track your health and fitness level.
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Elevated Heart Rate Most Likely Caused By Medical Condition
May 6, 2011
What is sinus tachycardia? What causes it? How is it treated?
Answer:
Sinus tachycardia is the term used to describe a faster-than-normal heartbeat a rate of more than 100 beats per minute versus the typical normal of 60 to 70 beats per minute. Well over 99 percent of the time, sinus tachycardia is perfectly normal. The increased heart rate doesn’t harm the heart and doesn’t require medical treatment.
The term sinus tachycardia has nothing to do with sinuses around the nose and cheeks. Rather, it comes from the sinus node, a thumbnail-sized structure in the upper right chamber of the heart. This structure controls the heart rate and is called the heart’s natural pacemaker.
The sinus node signals the heart to speed up during exercise or in situations that are stressful, frightening or exciting. For example, a 10- to 15-minute brisk walk typically elevates the heart rate to 110 to 120 beats per minute. Also, the sinus node increases the heart rate when the body is stressed because of illness. In all of these circumstances, the heart rate increase is a normal response.
Likewise, the sinus node signals the heart to slow down during rest or relaxation.
For some patients, the elevated heart rate is the only symptom. Some have a lifelong history of sinus tachycardia in the 110 beats per minute range, and they lead a normal, healthy life. And often the inappropriate sinus tachycardia will improve in time without treatment.
Do Panic Attacks Harm Your Heart
Finally, it can also help to know that the rapid heart rate of a panic attack doesn’t cause any damage.
“From the point of view of the heart, that’s really no different than if you were to go jogging for 20 minutes,” says Dr. Merchant. “Your heart rate would be 160, 170, 180 for the same amount of time. Most of the time, your heart’s quite accustomed to beating fast for short periods of time, and there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of any long-term damage or anything like that.”
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What Is A Normal Heart Rate Under A Stress Test
Your target heart rate during a stress test depends on your age. For adults, the maximum predicted heart rate is 220 minus your age. So, if youre 40 years old, the maximum predicted heart rate is 220 40 = 180.
For diagnostic treadmill testing, some doctors try to achieve about 85 percent of the predicted maximum heart rate. This provides enough stress to adequately test the heart without maximizing the stress and potentially producing false positive results.
What Is Your Pulse
When your heart beats it pushes blood around your body. This heart beat can be felt as your ‘pulse’ on your wrist or neck.
Your pulse is measured by counting the number of times your heart beats in one minute. For example, if your heart contracts 72 times in one minute, your pulse would be 72 beats per minute . This is also called your heart rate.
A normal pulse beats in a steady, regular rhythm. However, in some people this rhythm is uneven, or ‘jumps about’. This is known as an irregular pulse.
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Is Running At A High Heart Rate A Concern
Welcome to the next edition of the Ask Coach Parry podcast, Im Brad Brown and with me is Comrades Marathon coach, Lindsey Parry. Lindsey, welcome back onto the podcast, thank you so much for your time today.
A very interesting question today that was submitted by Juanita and she said shes not overly concerned about this. But she wants to get some feedback. She says its an issue and shes got various opinions online about it and shes not quite sure if you have a take on it.
Basically what shes saying is that if youre running with a heart rate monitor and you notice that your heart rate is on average about 20 beats faster than the runners around you, should you be concerned?
She says shes 40 years old, she weights 50kg and her heart rate is regularly high when compared to other runners.
Her resting heart rate is between 50-60 beats per minute. But when she runs shes averaging between 160 and 190 with her maximum heart rate peaking at about 200 beats per minute, during last weekends 10km that she did up in Gauteng.
She doesnt feel faint or tired or disorientated or in any pain. She just wants to know, should she be concerned?
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How To Measure Your Heart Rate While Walking
The easiest way to monitor your heart rate is by checking it with a monitor. However, if you have no heart monitor, you can check it in the old fashioned way by counting your pulse.
1. Heart Rate Monitor
Before using a heart rate monitor, you should set up your goal at what heart rate you wish to work out. Once you have determined your goals, walk to reach your targets. Different monitors work in different ways. Read the manual carefully before starting to use it in order to know and understand how the heart monitor really works.
You can choose a typical chest strap heart rate monitor which has a wrist display. When using a chest strap transmitter, it needs to be in close contact to your skin. You can use water, spit or electrolyte gel to moisten the skin to provide a better contact of the transmitter to your skin. Adjust the strap so it does not interfere with your breathing. Women should place the transmitter under the breast and bra.
You can also choose to monitor your heart rate with the help of a smartphone. Buy a Bluetooth chest strap which will transmit data to your smartphone app. Some types of smart watches have a LED-based monitor integrated.
2. Wrist
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