![]() How Can You Find Out Your Resting Heart Rate?įitness trackers with heart rate monitors can be surprisingly accurate. You should be incorporating both cardio and weights into your routine, for a total of 150 minutes per week, says Traynor. Without overdoing it, one of the best things you can do to maintain a healthy resting heart rate is exercise. "The heart learns to pump blood more efficiently when we exercise, which is why we recommend cardiovascular exercise," he says. This is because they are able to keep up with their basic metabolic requirements without the need for the heart to pump as much as the average person, Dr. Endurance athletes-say, cyclists or runners-can have rates below 40 beats per minute. Electrical abnormalities in the heart's pathways can also lower your resting heart rate.īut a low rate resting heart rate isn’t always a bad thing. 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. Stimulants such as pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient found in decongestants, can elevate it. Some medications are also known to affect the heart rate, Dr. “Conversely, people with an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism, can have slower heart rates.” “For people with an overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism, the excess amount of thyroid hormone can elevate the heart rate,” he explains. There are some conditions, such as thyroid disease, that can affect how fast your heart beats, Dr. "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. 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. Some research found that people with a resting heart rate at or above 84 beats per minute over the span of five years were 55 percent more likely to die of heart disease than were those with lower resting heart rates. It can also lead to bigger problems-everything from fainting spells to more serious issues like blood clots that lead to stroke, or eventual heart failure (Here's how to know if you have a blood clot). "Adrenaline is like gasoline on a fire for heart rate," says Traynor. You can develop a high heart rate because of things like fever, anemia, dehydration, or physical or emotional stress, which triggers the release of the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline. What Is Considered a Slow or Fast Heart Rate? Fast Resting Heart RatesĪ heart rate that averages above 100 beats per minute is called tachycardia. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play More gas means more work for the heart, which can put it in constant overdrive,” says Traynor. The faster you drive, the more gas you use. ![]() “Think of your heart as a car and your blood's oxygen as the gas. That means it doesn’t have to work as hard as it would if it were out of that zone, explains Kate Traynor, M.S., R.N., director of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. Having a heart rate in that sweet spot is important because it decreases the demand on your heart muscle. What Is a Normal Resting Heart Rate?Ī normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Your heart rate is typically lowest when sleeping or otherwise inactive and then increases with physical activity. But paying attention to your resting heart rate-that's how fast it's beating when you're relaxed, lying down, and calm -is important, too. Your heart rate is simply the number of heart beats within a one-minute period.Īthletes love to check their heart rates to see if they're working as hard or backing off as much as they should be during a workout. Your heart beats 100,000 times every day, pumping about 2,000 gallons of blood. It's the average amount of times the heart beats in a lifetime, according to the American Heart Association.Ī quick review on this important organ: The heart's function is to ensure that blood is getting circulated throughout the body blood is what provides oxygen to all of our organs and tissues to ensure optimal function, explains Suneet Singh, M.D., an emergency medicine physician and medical director at CareHive Health in Austin, Texas.
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