When To Worry About Low Heart Rate
Our heartbeat is one of our most essential biomarkers. One of the most significant statements to the significance of this bodily function is its recognition world over as one of the principal medical markers for the presence of life.
However, the importance of your heartbeat extends beyond acting as a notification that you are still alive.
The heartbeat is a rhythmic contraction of the cardiac muscles. These muscles then control the pumping of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood around your body. Consequently, the rate of your heartbeats can be a direct measure of the function and overall health of the organ.
Furthermore, in the multifaceted and interconnected system that is the body, a variance in heart rate levels can be an indicator for a host of conditions, including the adrenaline rush from exercise or fear, hormonal imbalances, psychological issues, or other underlying medical problems.
With heart rate, when you are at rest, less is often always better. Generally, a lower resting heart rate indicates that the organ is performing more efficiently than average. Lower heart rates are usually standard among well-trained athletes and people with high cardiovascular fitness levels.
A lower rate implies that your heart does not have to overexert itself to provide the rest of your body with the minimum required amount of oxygenated blood.
Arrhythmia Tachycardia And Other Conditions
A number of conditions can affect your heart rate. An arrhythmia causes the heart to beat too fast, too slow or with an irregular rhythm.
Tachycardia is generally considered to be a resting heart rate of over 100 bpm, according to the National Institutes of Health, and generally caused when electrical signals in the heart’s upper chambers fire abnormally. If the heart rate is closer to 150 bpm or higher, it is a condition known as supraventricular tachycardia . In SVT, your hearts electrical system, which controls the heart rate, is out of whack. This generally requires medical attention.
Bradycardia, on the other hand, is a condition where the heart rate is too low, typically less than 60 bpm. This can be the result of problems with the sinoatrial node, which acts as the pacemaker, or damage to the heart as a result of a heart attack or cardiovascular disease.
Additional reporting by Kim Ann Zimmermann, Live Science contributor.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Jan. 12, 2018, to clarify what the target zone for the maximum heart rate is for a 60-year-old person.
Causes Of A Slow Heart Rate
Its normal for your heart rate to change throughout the day. It speeds up when you exercise, slows down as you recover from exercising, and is usually at its lowest while you sleep.
Sometimes people have a slower heart rate than normal. This is called bradycardia, and it isnt necessarily a problem. Its diagnosed when your heart beats less than 60 beats per minute.
There are several causes of a slow heart rate. The most common are being young or physically fit. The heart is a muscle, and just like the other muscles in your body, it responds positively to exercise. When youre in good shape, your heart doesnt need to beat as often to supply your body with enough oxygen.
But a slow heart rate can also be a sign of a medical problem, such as a heart condition. If your resting heart rate is slow and you have other symptoms of bradycardia such as lightheadedness, call your doctor or go to the ER.
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Measuring Your Heart Rate
Checking your resting heart rate isnt difficult. Start by sitting quietly for five minutes or so. Then, place two fingers on the thumb side of your wrist, between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery. Once you feel a pulse, count the number of beats for 15 seconds. Then multiply that number by four. That will give you your beats per minute.
Its a good idea to do this every so often, just to have a baseline number. If you notice a changeup or downtell your doctor at your next appointment. You should also talk with your doctor about your target heart rate, particularly if you are an older adult or you have risk factor for cardiovascular problems, such as diabetes, family history of heart disease, smoking, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, or high blood pressure.
Keep in mind that your heart rate should go up when you exercise and then return to a normal resting heart rate soon after you stop. If your heart rate doesnt rise very much or takes a long time to return to normal, tell your doctor. It may be a sign of a heart that isnt working optimally. It may not be serious, but it is worth a discussion with your physician.
This article was originally published in 2018. It is regularly updated.
Why Is My Resting Heart Rate So Low
For some people, a slow heart rate does not cause any problems. It can be a sign of being very fit. Healthy young adults and athletes often have heart rates of less than 60 beats a minute. In other people, bradycardia is a sign of a problem with the hearts electrical system.
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How To Measure Heart Rate
The easiest places to measure your heart rate, according to the AHA, are:
- wrists
- side of the neck
- top of the foot
For an accurate reading, put two fingers over one of these areas and count the number of beats in 60 seconds. You can also do this for 20 seconds and multiply by three, which may be easier, Bauman said. Using your thumb may be confusing because sometimes you can feel a pulse in the thumb, she said.
How To Determine Your Ideal Exercising Heart Rate
Some athletes like to follow target-heart-rate training. This is based on your intensity level compared to your maximum heart rate.
Your maximum heart rate is considered the highest amount your heart can sustain during cardiovascular training. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.
Most athletes train at between 50 and 70 percent of their maximum heart rate. For example, if your maximum heart rate is 180 bpm, your target-training zone would be between 90 and 126 bpm. Use a heart rate monitor to keep track during exercise.
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How Is Bradycardia Diagnosed
When you see your doctor, they will measure your heart rate. Your heart rate might have returned to normal, so its a good idea to keep a record of when you experience bradycardia or related symptoms.
Your doctor will also need to work out the cause of your bradycardia. They will ask about your symptoms and your medical and family health history, and will examine you. Tests, such as an electrocardiogram, or ECG, might be done to check your heart. Depending on what is found, you might need further tests such as a stress test.
Is Resting Heart Rate Different By Age
For most of us , between 60 and 100 beats per minute is normal.1 The rate can be affected by factors like stress, anxiety, hormones, medication, and how physically active you are. An athlete or more active person may have a resting heart rate as low as 40 beats per minute. Now thats chill!
When it comes to resting heart rate, lower is better. It usually means your heart muscle is in better condition and doesnt have to work as hard to maintain a steady beat. Studies have found that a higher resting heart rate is linked with lower physical fitness and higher blood pressure and body weight.2
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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.
What Is Your Lowest Heart Rate Ever
Well, if you cant win the races, youve got to focus on other competitions. One of my personal favorites is the physical parameter: Low Resting Heart Rate. As I have described previously, your resting heart rate gets lower as your conditions gets better.
You will probably already have noticed that your resting heart is lower when you are in good shape. This is because of a larger stroke volume or more correctly a bigger parasympathic drive on the sinus node. It is easy to monitor your resting heart rate, just put on your Polar rim when you wake up and relaxe for a couple of minutes.
Now I want to know: Who has had the lowest resting heart rate ever?
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No Point In Comparing Your Heart Rate To Others
The resting heart rate of healthy adults is typically 50-80 beats per minute.
But if, for example, a woman has a resting heart rate of 50, that can mean either that she is very fit or that she naturally has a low resting heart rate. Or both.
So theres no point in comparing your own resting heart rate with others, Hallén says.
But as a goal for yourself, it can be useful, the researcher said.
If you exercise to improve your fitness, you can use your resting heart rate as a measure of whether your training is having an effect, Hallén says.
Because the heart is a muscle with a cavity inside. And when you train to improve your fitness, youre simply training your heart muscle.
So whats really going on if your resting heart rate has dropped?
Treatment Of Low Heart Rate
In patients with confirmed or suspected slow heart rate, the underlying possible causes such as those outlined above need to be evaluated carefully. Its especially important to review the medication list carefully and stop any potentially offending agents. Blood tests such as thyroid function studies may be performed.
An EKG is performed to see if there is just a slow heart rate or any evidence of heart block. Sometimes a monitor is worn to see the heart rate over time. Some people with a slow heart rate are unable to get their heart rate up with exercise known as chronotropic incompetence this can be diagnosed with exercise testing. An echocardiogram may be performed to evaluate the heart structure and function.
What we do with a slow heart rate really depends on how bad the symptoms are. Its key to make sure the symptoms are related to the slow heart rate and that possible causes are identified and treated. The main indication for a patient without symptoms to get a pacemaker would be advanced heart block, long pauses in the heartbeat or rhythms that have the potential to lead to instability.
In patients that are symptomatic, and in whom underlying reversible causes have been ruled out, insertion of a pacemaker may be required. The choice of pacemaker for those with a low heart rate is different in different people and depends upon the level of block in the heart.
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Which Is The Best Way To Measure Your Resting Heart Rate
You can measure your heart rate manually, and the procedure is very simple. The most convenient place to measure it is on your wrist. First, you have to locate the pulse or beat by pressing the side of your wrist below the thumb. Press gently on that place for exactly 30 seconds and double the beats. This gives you your heart rate in beats per minute . If you feel your beat is a bit irregular, count it till 60 seconds.
The best time to measure your resting heart rate is as soon as you get up in the morning, preferably after a good nights sleep.
Check Your Resting Heart Rate Early And Often
Dr. Wasfy recommends checking your resting heart rate a few times per week and at different times of the day. Keep in mind that the number can be influenced by many factors, including stress and anxiety, circulating hormones, and medications such as certain antidepressants and some blood pressure drugs.
Talk with your doctor if your resting heart rate is regularly on the high end. There are ways to lower it and keep it within its proper range. One example is keeping your cholesterol levels in check. High levels restrict blood flow through the arteries and damage blood vessels, which can make your heart beat faster than normal to move blood through the body.
Another reliable way to lower your resting heart rate is to exercise. “Even small amounts of exercise can make a change,” says Dr. Wasfy. However, the intensity of the exercise is key. One study that involved 55-year-old adults found that just one hour per week of high-intensity aerobic training lowered RHR more efficiently than a low-intensity effort .
Tips for measuring your resting heart rate
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Many Athletes Have A Very Low Resting Heart Rate But That Doesnt Mean That A Low Resting Heart Rate In Itself Means That You Are In Good Condition Says A Professor At The Norwegian School Of Sports Science
Many people use a heart rate monitor as part of their training, and consequently have the ability to monitor their heart rate continuously. If you are part of this group, you might be curious about what your resting heart rate really says about how fit you are.
As is always true in research, the answer is not that straightforward, says Jostein Hallén a professor at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences.
Some people are simply born with a heart that beats slower at rest than others .
Your heart rate determines how much blood your heartbeat can supply to the body. But even if some of this is determined by your genes, you can influence your resting heart rate with exercise.
The Difference Between Fitness And Endurance
How important is the resting heart rate for people who want to be fit? Or in other words: Is it enough that your heart is in good shape?
You have to think about the goal of your training, Hallén says.
He distinguishes between endurance and fitness. A low resting heart rate is a sign that you are in good condition.
But to be good at various sports, you need to train other muscles, not just your heart.
Endurance in the muscles that you need for your sport of choice is perhaps just as important, Hallén said.
A cyclist who is in good condition will most likely have poorer endurance on the football field than a football player in poorer condition, says Hallén.
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What Happens To Your Heart Rate During A Heart Attack
A heart attack can also trigger a slowing or accelerating of your heart rate. Likewise, your blood pressure during a heart attack may increase or decrease depending on such factors as the type of heart tissue injured during the event or whether certain hormones were released that spiked your blood pressure.
How To Lower Your Heart Rate Over Time
Kristin Dean, MD, a board-certified physician at Doctor On Demand, says when your heart beats fewer times each minute, it is more efficient and doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood through the body.
“Studies have shown that a lower overall workload for your heart is a good thing for heart health long-term,” Dean says. “Higher heart rates may be associated with an increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, as seen in the Copenhagen Male Study.”
Additionally, a higher resting heart rate has been associated with increased risk of diabetes and heart disease leading to death, says Maheer Gandhavadi, MD, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology with Dignity Health Mercy Medical Group.
You can lower your resting heart rate by making a few lifestyle changes. Dean says some of the best ways include:
- Regular exercise. “Increasing your physical activity will improve your overall heart health and likely result in a lower heart rate over time,” says Dean. Frequently walking, jogging, swimming, or biking are easy ways to gradually .
- Healthy Diet. Research has found that omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a reduced resting heart rate try eating more fish, walnuts, and avocados.
- Stop smoking. Resting heart rate was found to be higher among young adults who smoke, according to research published in the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology.
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Low Heart Rate Training: All You Need To Know
Heart-rate training could easily be one of the most confusing aspects of any athletes workout routine. However, once youve got your data as well as knowledge of what to do with the data, it is a relatively easy way to elevate your performance.
Quite a number of people support and canvass for HIIT training alongside hard intervals with a mindset that a quality session should involve pushing yourself to limits. However, there are several perks that lower heart training offers that would reflect in your performance.
LOW HEART-RATE TRAINING: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
Heart-rate training could easily be one of the most confusing aspects of any athletes workout routine. However, once youve got your data as well as knowledge of what to do with the data, it is a relatively easy way to elevate your performance.
Quite a number of people support and canvass for HIIT training alongside hard intervals with a mindset that a quality session should involve pushing yourself to limits. However, there are several perks that lower heart training offers that would reflect in your performance.
Provided your goal is to build a body that is injury-proof and enjoy a lengthy and successful career as an athlete, then getting rid of the Go hard or go home mentality is essential.
The human body is designed to typically recover from stress within a particular time period, however, continuously stressing your body gives it little or no time to recover.
HOW DOES LOW HEART-RATE TRAINING WORK?