Keys To Getting An Accurate Result
Resting heart rate is determined with a pulse measurement when you are relaxed and at rest. Do not take resting heart rate after:
- Active exercise
Some common causes of low heart rates include the following:
- Heart medications like beta-blockers, certain calcium channel blockers, and even some eye drops
Fast Facts On The Heart Rate
- The heart rate measures the number of times the heart beats per minute.
- After the age of 10 years, the heart rate of a person should be between 60 and 100 beats per minute while they are resting.
- The heart will speed up during exercise. There is a recommended maximum heart rate that varies depending on the age of the individual.
- It is not only the speed of the heart rate that is important. The rhythm of the heartbeat is also crucial, and an irregular heartbeat can be a sign of a serious health condition.
- One in every four deaths in the United States occurs as a result of heart disease. Monitoring your heart rate can help prevent heart complications.
It is important to identify whether your heart rate sits within the normal range. If disease or injury weakens the heart, the organs will not receive enough blood to function normally.
The United States National Institutes of Health have published a list of normal resting heart rates.
The heart rate gets progressively slower as a person moves through childhood toward adolescence.
The normal resting heart rate for adults over the age of 10 years, including older adults, is .
Highly trained athletes may have a resting heart rate below 60 bpm, sometimes reaching 40 bpm.
The following is a table of normal resting heart rates at different ages according to the NIH:
| Age | |
| Over 10 years | 60 to 100 |
Get Moving To Strengthen Your Heart
Cardiovascular exercises, which increase your heart rate, should be a key component of your workout regimen. Although many people associate this form of exercise with weight loss, it’s helpful for everyone because it strengthens your heart, according to The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook. As you increase the health of this organ through exercise, it will get stronger and pump blood throughout your body with greater ease. As a result, it won’t need to beat as many times per minute.
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Ideal Heart Rate For Exercise
After youve gotten the hang of heart rate measurement, you can begin to calculate and monitor your target exercising heart rate.
If youre using the manual method of heart rate measurement, youll need to stop exercising briefly to take your pulse.
If youre using a heart rate monitor, you can continue your workout while keeping an eye on your monitor.
Your doctor can help determine the best target heart rate for you, or you can use general target zone guidelines to determine your target exercise heart rate based on your age.
According to the AHA , moderate-intensity workouts should be closer to the lower end of the target heart rate range that correlates with your age. Within the higher end of the range is the target heart rate for high-intensity, vigorous workouts.
The target heart rate zones noted below are based on what is equal to 50 to 85 percent of the average maximum heart rate for each stated age, and the average maximum heart rate is based on the calculation of 220 minus years of age.
Please be aware that the American Heart Association states that these figures are averages to be used as a general guide. If you feel this guide doesnt fit your personal exercise heart rate target for moderate or vigorous exercise, your doctor will be able to work with you on an individual basis to help determine the target heart rate range that is best for you.
| Target heart rate zone | |
| 75 to 128 beats per minute | 150 beats per minute |
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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How To Lower Heart Rate
If your heart rate is too high there are ways to lower it safely. Your heart rate could be high after exercising or because youre feeling stressed or anxious.
Here are some fast-acting methods that can help lower a fast heart rate:
- Breathing exercises: You can use your breathing to raise the aortic pressure in your heart, which will lower your heart rate. To do this, close your mouth and nose and raise the pressure in your chest. Breathe in for five to eight seconds, hold it for three to five seconds, and then exhale slowly. This can be repeated several times.
- Taking a bath: This can help relax you and bring your heart rate down.
- Light yoga: Calming yoga or meditation can help relax you and bring a high heart rate down.
- Moving to a cooler location: If your heart rate is raised because youre too hot, moving to a cooler location will help bring it down.
Here are some long-term solutions that can help you achieve a healthy heart rate:
- Exercising regularly: Starting and keeping an exercise program will help decrease resting heart rates over time.
- Eating healthy:Healthy diets that contain whole grains, leafy greens, fruits, and omega-3 fatty acids are great for supporting long term heart health and will help keep heart disease at bay.
- Quitting smoking:Non-smokers have a lowered risk of recurrent heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.
- Staying hydrated:Drinking enough water allows the heart to pump blood more easily throughout the body.
Typical Resting Heart Rates
For most adults, a normal resting heart rate is considered to be between 60 to 100 bpm, though this range can vary and depends on multiple factors. Adult males tend to have lower heart rates.
A heart rate outside of this range may still be considered healthy in certain situations. For example, athletes and physically fit individuals may have resting heart rates as low as 30 bpm. Your doctor can help you assess whether your resting heart rate is healthy for you.
Resting heart rate decreases with age. For example, one large study found that the upper limit of the average resting heart rate is 110 bpm for adults 18 to 45 years old, 100 bpm for those between 45 and 60 years old, and 95 bpm for those older than 60. These are the average resting heart rates for healthy adults, as reported by the same study:
| Age |
|---|
| 63-85 bpm |
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What Is A Normal Exercising Heart Rate
To determine what a normal exercising heart rate is, you first need to determine your age-predicted maximal heart rate. Here is the generalized equation for predicting maximal heart rate in healthy adults:
HRmax = 208
For example, a 20-year-old person, the age-predicted maximal heart rate would be 194 beats per minute and for a 65-year-old person, the age-predicted maximal heart rate would be 163 beats per minute. A simplified age-predicted maximal heart rate equation is commonly used, but it overestimates maximal heart rate in young adults and increasingly underestimates the maximal heart rate in older adults.
What Is A Normal Heart Rate
A normal resting heart rate will be a little different for each person. The average adults heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. But many things affect where someones heart rate usually lives within that range, including:
-
Fitness: People with good cardiovascular fitness like athletes tend to have lower resting heart rates. Their resting heart may even be in the 50s.
-
Age: The average adult between the ages of 18 to 30 usually has a heart rate in the low 80s. This decreases as they get older. Adults 50 to 80 years old typically run in the low 70s.
-
Sex: The average woman has a heart rate of 79. The average man clocks in at 74.
Take these averages with a grain of salt. Its completely normal if your heart rate falls above or below average.
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How To Have Healthier Resting Heart Rate
Studies show that you may die earlier if your resting heart rate is on the higher side. The problem is that most people with a high resting heart rate usually do not know of it. Here are some steps that will help you have a healthier resting heart rate.
1. Increase Exercise
While you may think exercise will actually increase your heart rate, things do not work that way with resting heart rate. Your heart rate increases when you exercise, but this stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and lowers beats per minute, which in long term lowers your resting heart rate. Aerobic exercises, interval trainings and resistance exercises prove more beneficial. Swimming, jogging, biking and running work quite well to lower your resting heart rate.
2. Reduce Stress
Stress can keep your resting heart rate on the higher side. It also increases inflammation in your body and leads to other secondary health problems as well. Try some relaxation exercises, learn breathing techniques, and do some yoga to keep stress under control, which in turn will help you fall in the normal range on resting heart rate chart.
3. Avoid Tobacco
Smoking and tobacco use can affect your resting heart rate, so it is important to quit smoking to lower your heart rate. Start by lowering your tobacco use to keep things under control.
4. Maintain Healthy Weight
5. Cut Down on Caffeine
6. Sleep Well
Medications That Can Raise Your Heart Rate
Medications can also raise your heart rate. These include:
-
Levothyroxine, the replacement thyroid hormone for people with low thyroid function
Check in with your pharmacist or healthcare provider if youre concerned your medications are affecting your heart rate.
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Normal Resting Heart Rate
An average adult resting heart rate range is 60 to 100 bpm. The higher end of the range is associated with increased health risks including metabolic syndrome.
Adults with a high level of fitness can have a resting heart rate below 60. Some elite endurance athletes have a resting heart rate below 40.
An elevated resting heart rate of 80 bpm or higher can be an indicator of increased cardiovascular risk and all-cause mortality risk. The risk is most pronounced when the resting heart rate goes above 90 bpm.
Resting heart rate varies by sex. Women tend to have smaller hearts and lower blood volume and hemoglobin, which means the heart needs to beat more frequently to nourish the body’s tissues.
A person’s average resting heart rate also changes from throughout the lifespan, being much faster in infants and slowing by adulthood. The average ranges also change slightly as you age.
Your resting heart rate can also be affected by any medications that you take. For example, beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers can lower your resting heart rate below 60, while medications to treat asthma, depression, and attention deficit disorder might raise it.
Talk to your doctor if you do not actively exercise but you have a low RHR with symptoms of dizziness or shortness of breath.
When someone who is not an athlete or at a high level of fitness has a low resting heart rate , it can be a sign of a medical or health problem.
What Is The Difference Between Male & Female Heart Rates
The human heart beats approximately 70 to 85 times per minute in the average adult, with a notable difference between the genders. The average adult male heart rate is between 70 and 72 beats per minute, while there average for adult women is between 78 and 82 beats. This difference is largely accounted for by the size of the heart, which is typically smaller in females than males. The smaller female heart, pumping less blood with each beat, needs to beat at a faster rate to match the larger male heart’s output.
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When To Call Your Doctor
The heart is arguably the most important organ in the body. If something goes wrong, the consequences are sometimes fatal. Some heart problems may not be as detrimental as a heart attack, but this doesnt mean they shouldnt be taken seriously.
You should go to the doctor if your heart rate has been within a normal range and suddenly is not. This might indicate you have a heart problem like arrhythmia which is an abnormal heart rhythm, tachycardia which is when the heart beats consistently at over 100 bpm, or bradycardia which is a low heart rate thats less than 60 bpm.
You should seek emergency care if your rapid heart rate is resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, or dizziness, says Evan Jacobs, MD, the Regional Medical Director in Cardiovascular Services atConviva Care Centers. In general, a sustained heart rate above 130 beats per minute, regardless of symptoms, should prompt urgent evaluation. Your primary care doctor or cardiologist should be alerted to rates between 100 and 130 beats per minute and can decide on the need for emergency care on a case-by-case basis.
Your Heart Rate At Rest
The term “normal heart rate” describes what’s technically known as your resting heart rate, which is the rate at which your heart beats when you’re inactive. This rate differs for men and women and varies according to other factors, such as your age and how active you are. Top End Sports notes a person’s resting heart rate can often range from the high 40s to above 80 beats per minute.
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Slow Resting Heart Rates
On the other hand, a resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute is called bradycardia, and can cause insufficient blood flow to the brain.
“An abnormally low heart rate can lead to symptoms such as feeling tired, lightheaded, dizzy, and may even cause loss of consciousness,” says Suneet Mittal, M.D, FHRS, of the Heart Rhythm Society.
There are some conditions, such as thyroid disease, that can affect how fast your heart beats, Dr. Singh says. For people with an overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism, the excess amount of thyroid hormone can elevate the heart rate, he explains. Conversely, people with an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism, can have slower heart rates.
Some medications are also known to affect the heart rate, Dr. Singh adds. Stimulants such as pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient found in decongestants, can elevate it. Beta-blockers, which are medications used to treat high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism, can act on heart rate as well and cause it to read as lower. Electrical abnormalities in the heart’s pathways can also lower your resting heart rate.
Without overdoing it, one of the best things you can do to maintain a healthy resting heart rate is exercise. You should be incorporating both cardio and weights into your routine, for a total of 150 minutes per week, says Traynor.
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What Is A Target Heart Rate
According to the AHA , your target heart rate during moderate-intensity activities is about 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. Vigorous physical activity should result in about 70 to 85 percent of your maximum.
So for 35-year-olds, a goal target heart rate is between 93 and 157 bpm .
The table below shows the target heart rate range and average maximum heart rate for different ages, based on information from the AHA.
| Age |
- being an older adult
- problems with the conduction system of the heart
Borderline or occasional bradycardia may not need treatment. But prolonged bradycardia, or bradycardia thats not treated, can become more serious.
Certain underlying conditions are typically the true decider of what a dangerous heart rate is. If youre already living with heart disease, heart failure, or a history of heart disease and notice a fluctuation in your heart rate, you should go to the doctor as soon as you can, as it could be a sign of a serious complication.