A heart rate is the number of times a person's heart beats per minute. The average heart rate for adults is between 60 and 100 bpm.
The resting heart rate of an individual will vary depending on their age, body size, heart conditions and medication use. Getting excited or scared can increase one's heart rate.
Getting fit can lower one's heart rate. A resting heart rate of 40 to 60 bpm can be achieved by a well-trained athlete. According to Harvard Health, cyclist Miguel Indurain had a resting heart rate of 28 bpm at the height of his career.
There are new ways to keep your heart healthy.
Mary Ann Bauman, an internist at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, said that your heart is a muscle and that you can strengthen it by doing activities.
If you are experiencing a fast, slow or irregular heart beat, it is a good idea to track your heart rate.
The maximum and normal heart rate ranges.
The age.
The target is the heart-rate zone.
Average heart rate.
20 years.
100 to 170 bpm.
200 bpm
25
98 to 166 bpm.
195 bpm
30
95 to 161 bpm.
190 bpm
35
93 to 157 bpm.
185 bpm
40
90 to 153 bpm.
180 bpm
45
88 to 149 bpm.
175 bpm
50
95 to 140 bpm.
170 bpm
55
83 to 140 bpm.
165 bpm
60
80 to 136 bpm.
160 bpm
65
78 to 132 bpm.
155 bpm
70
75 to 128 bpm.
150 bpm.
The blood pressure and the heart rate are related.
Some people confuse high blood pressure with high heart rate. Blood pressure is the force of the blood against the walls of arteries, while heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute. According to Medical News Today, pulse rate is equal to heart rate, so the terms are often used interchangeably.
Having high blood pressure, or hypertension, doesn't necessarily mean having a high pulse rate, because there is no correlation between the two. A vigorous workout can only modestly increase blood pressure.
How to measure heart rate.
The easiest places to measure your heart rate are outdoors.
There are wrists.
There is an elbow.
The side of the neck.
The top of the foot.
If you want to get an accurate pulse rate, you need to count the number of beats in 60 seconds. Bauman told Live Science that you can do this for 20 seconds and add up to three. She said that using your thumb may be confusing because you can feel a pulse in it.
Jamie Grill has an image courtesy of
Resting heart rate.
Your resting heart rate is how many times your heart beats in a minute when you are sitting or lying down. The American Heart Association says it is best to measure your resting heart rate in the morning.
A normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 bpm for adults 18 and older. The normal resting heart rate for children is between 70 and 100 bpm.
It doesn't mean you have a medical problem if your heart rate is less than 60 bpm. Active people have lower heart rates because their heart muscles don't work as hard to maintain a steady beat. The resting heart rates of athletes and people who are very fit can be as low as 40 bpm.
Taking certain medications can cause one's resting heart rate to dip below 60 bpm. "Lowering your heart rate is one of the benefits of taking medication for blood pressure and other conditions," Bauman said.
If it's coupled with worrisome symptoms, a low heart rate may signal a problem. Bauman said that a low heart rate in someone who is having dizziness and lightheadedness could be a sign that they have an abnormality. bradycardia is a condition where the heart rate falls too low, typically under 60 bpm, and this can be the result of problems with the sinoatrial node, which acts as the heart's pacemaker.
Top 10 facts about your heart.
A high heart rate can put too much stress on the heart and other organs. Bauman said that if a person has a high heart rate at rest and is experiencing other symptoms, doctors may need to examine his or her heart function.
According to Harvard Health, a resting heart rate above 90 bpm is considered high. The study found that people who had their heart rates rise from less than 70 bpm to more than 85 bpm were more likely to die.
Target heart rate and maximum.
Monitoring your heart rate during a workout can help you decide if you're doing enough. Bauman said that when people exercise in their target heart zone, they maximize the cardiovascular benefits of their workout.
A person's maximum heart rate is between 80% and 85% of their target heart rate. The maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. The maximum heart rate for a 30-year-old is 190 bpm.
The target zone for a 30-year-old person is between 50 and 85%.
190 x 0.50 is 95 bpm.
190 x 0.85 is 85%.
The target zone for a 60-year-old is between 80 and 136 bpm.
You can either manually calculate your heart rate during exercise or use a heart rate monitor that wraps around the chest. Bauman said that exercising without getting the heart rate up to the target zone has no benefit. It doesn't challenge the heart to its fullest extent.
How heart rate monitors work.
Oscar Wong has an image on the website.
Lowering the heart rate.
Heart rates can go up due to stress and dehydration. Taking slow, deep breaths and rehydrating can help lower your heart rate.
Maintaining a regular exercise schedule can help to lower your resting heart rate over time. Smoking cigarettes raises the heart rate, in part due to nicotine's effects on the circulatory system's blood vessels, so quitting smoking can also help lower one's heart rate to a healthy range, according to Harvard Health.
If you want to lower your heart rate in a healthy way after exercise, the AHA recommends that you "cool down" by continuing to move for about 5 to 10 minutes, but at a slower pace and reduced intensity compared with the rest of your workout. The following cool down activities are suggested by Mayo.
Walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to cool down.
Walk briskly for five to 10 minutes.
Swim laps for five to 10 minutes to cool down.
When your heart rate falls too quickly after a workout, it can cause dizziness or nausea, so cooling down after a workout helps to bring it back to normal levels. It's not clear whether a cool down in your workout will help to prevent muscle pain after exercise, but more research is needed in this area, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Arrhythmia, tachycardia and other conditions can occur.
A number of conditions can affect your heart rate. An "arrhythmia" is a heart rate that is too fast, slow or irregular.
bradycardia is when the heart rate is too low, while tachycardia is when the heart rate is too high, according to the National Institutes of Health. This happens when the electrical signals in the heart's upper chambers are not normal.
If the heart rate is over 150 bpm, it is known as supraventricular tachycardia. The electrical system that controls the heart rate is malfunctioning. This usually requires medical attention.
There are additional resources.
The article was updated on December 13, 2021.
Kim Ann Zimmermann is a Live Science contributor.
Live Science published the original article.
