What can heart rate tell you about your overall health?
Many of us might not give much thought to our heart rate, but a fast or slow rhythm can reveal a lot about your general health.
Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain of Spain was reportedly once measured to have a resting heart rate of 28 beats per minute, while others such as singer Miley Cyrus live relatively normal lives despite having a heart rhythm above the normal range.
So what does heart rate mean and what can it tell us about our general health?
What is a normal healthy resting heart rate?
A healthy heart rate can vary depending on age, physical fitness and other factors, including emotions, body temperature and certain medications.
“For most adults, a normal healthy resting heart rate, or pulse, is between 60 and 100 beats per minute,” Heart Foundation clinical evidence manager Dr Amanda Buttery says.
Dr Buttery says a normal pulse beats in a steady, regular rhythm.
“A lower resting heart rate – between 40 and 60 beats per minute – is quite common during sleep, in people who are very active, and in athletes,” she says.
“Infants, toddlers and school-aged children have higher resting heart rates than adults – in an infant, the heart beats 100 to 190 times a minute on average.”
How heart rate can vary
MonashHeart Cardiac Rhythm Management Services deputy director Dr Jeff Alison says your heart could get up to 130 beats per minute on a normal day – even when you’re not undertaking physical activity – due to mental or emotional stimuli.
A heart rate closer to the top end of the healthy range can be associated with a sedentary lifestyle, lower physical fitness, high blood pressure and excess body weight.
“Heart rate recovery is a good indicator of fitness and cardiac health,” Dr Alison says.
“Getting your heart rate below 50 per cent of the maximum after exercising to your peak within about a minute or a minute and a half is a good indication of overall health and fitness.”
Dr Alison says generally we should be worried when a racing or slow heart rate is accompanied by other symptoms.
“It depends on what’s driving the faster (or slower) heart rate and how long it persists,” Dr Alison says.
What can an abnormal heart rate mean?
A heart that beats outside the normal range is known as an arrhythmia – this can mean too fast, too slow, or irregularly – and should be assessed by a doctor.
A resting heart rate above the normal range is known as a tachycardia while a rhythm below 60 is called a bradycardia.
“If you notice that your heart rate is consistently outside the normal range, irregular, or is racing even when you are at rest, it’s best to speak with your doctor,” Dr Buttery says.
“Having a racing heart rate, palpitations, or an irregular heart rhythm may be an indication of an underlying heart condition, like atrial fibrillation.”
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Symptoms of a fast heart rate
“In addition to the thumping of your heart beating fast, symptoms people should look for include shortness of breath at rest and shortness of breath when you try to do something, palpitations, light-headedness, feeling dizzy and chest pain,” Dr Alison says.
“If your heart rate goes really fast and in a different rhythm for two or three weeks, then your heart can start to fail and you might present to hospital with heart failure symptoms.”
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Symptoms of a slow heart rate
Whether your heart rate is thought to be too slow can depend on your physical condition.
“The slower resting heart rate can be a marker of a higher level of fitness and general wellbeing, so if your typical resting heart rate is around 50, then potentially you may be in better shape than someone whose resting rate never goes below 70 or 80,” Dr Alison says.
Bradycardia is more common as people get older, and can be caused by a heart malfunction, an AV block, or certain illnesses or conditions.
Signs of bradycardia can include fatigue, weakness, dizziness, confusion, fainting, chest pain and shortness of breath.
Written by Kate Salemme.
