![]() In a large US study, a higher heart rate was associated with a greater incidence of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and early death from heart-related and non-heart-related causes. from What heart rate should we aim for?Īlthough the “normal” range of heart rate is quite broad at 60-100, there’s increasing evidence having a heart rate at the lower end of the spectrum is better for you. Wearable devices are great for keeping an eye on your heart rate, but be aware they’re not always accurate. Those at the more severe end of the spectrum may need a pacemaker to stimulate the heart to beat. There are various types of heart block, which range in severity from no symptoms at all to frequent blackouts or sudden death. This can be life-threatening, as although the ventricles have an intrinsic backup system to beat at approximately 40 beats per minute, this can fail and cause the heart to stop completely. Heart block occurs when the electrical signals, which originate at the top of the heart in the atria, are not conducted properly to the ventricles at the bottom of the heart. Heart arrhythmia: arrhythmias can also slow down your heart. It’s not entirely clear why this happens, but the predominant mechanism behind it is changes to the electrical conducting system of the heart that happen with exercise training Physical fitness: exercise training and cardiovascular fitness causes a lower resting heart rate, and it can be quite normal for athletes to have resting heart rate in the 40s. Medications: many tablets can slow down heart rate (some deliberately to ease the load on the heart), such as beta-blockers, antidepressants and opioid type painkillers Relaxation: the heart rate slows as we relax and the counterpart to the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us to “rest and digest” is activated What about going slow, or bradycardia? Again, there are a few common reasons: Getting to the heart of the matter on stroke One of its more serious complications is stroke. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia, where the pulse becomes irregular, and can cause symptoms such as palpitations, shortness of breath and light-headedness. Heart arrhythmias: the heart’s normal electrical activity can also be interrupted, leading to tachyarrhythmias, where the heart is beating fast and abnormally. Thyroid disease: your thyroid is a gland in your neck that works to maintain your metabolism – an overactive thyroid gland can increase the heart rate, along with causing weight loss, irritability, heat intolerance and diarrhoea A faster heart rate alerts doctors the infection is severe Infection: serious infections, particularly when they spread into the bloodstream (sepsis), put more strain on the heart as more blood flow is required to carry immune cells from the bone marrow and lymph glands to target the infection. But in the modern day it tends to be activated more when we have a difficult conversation at work, or watch Game of Thrones ![]() Stress: stress and excitement cause activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which was biologically designed to help us hunt for food or run away from animals. This a chemical in the brain that causes drowsiness and slows heart rate A normal person pumps around five to six litres per minute, and an average person can get up to 20 litres a minute while exercising – athletes can even go as high as 35Ĭoffee and energy drinks: caffeine increases your heart rate by blocking adenosine. Lots of things can cause your heart rate to speed up (known as tachycardia):Įxercise: when you exercise, your heart rate needs to increase to pump more blood around your body. This “normal” range for heart rate doesn’t change across the adult lifespan. This applies for anyone over the age of 17 – infants and children have faster heart rates due to their smaller body and heart size. What is a normal heart rate and what affects it?Īs an adult, the normal range for resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. How reliable is your wearable heart-rate monitor? They’re an attractive way to have real-time heart rate recording during rest and activity, but they have inherent limitations due to the simplicity of their design, and interference caused by movement can often interrupt their recordings. As the volume of small arteries in the wrist transiently increase with each heart beat, the amount of light reflected back to a conductor in the watch changes – and the frequency with which these fluctuations occur is the heart rate. from Wearable devices such as smartwatches use light, rather than pressure, to measure heart rate. An ECG is the most accurate reading of your heart rate.
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