What’s a normal heart rate?

Normal heart rate | Measuring heart rate | Heart rate factors | Max heart rate | Lowering heart rate | When to see a doctor

Most people don’t think twice about what their heart rate is unless they’re experiencing distress or symptoms of a heart problem. However, it’s important to know what a normal heart rate should be, even if you don’t have heart problems. For adults older than 18 years of age, a normal resting heart rate should be between 60 and 100 beats per minute (bpm). Children ages 6 through 15 years should have a heart rate between 70 and 100 bpm. Let’s take a look at what these numbers mean, how to measure your heart rate, and what factors might cause your heart rate to go up or down.

What’s a normal heart rate?

A heart rate is a measurement of the number of times the heart muscle beats per minute. Healthy kids and adults will have hearts that beat at different speeds because of their age and body size. If the heart is beating too fast or too slow, this could mean you have an underlying health problem. Your resting heart rate will also allow you to gauge your current heart health.      

In general, a lower resting heart rate means the heart is beating less per minute, which likely means that it’s more efficient. Your resting heart rate tells you how fast your heart is beating when you’re in a relaxed state, like sitting or laying down. If your resting heart rate is too high, this might mean you have lower physical fitness, or that you’re at risk of developing a heart condition.

Knowing what your target heart rate should be for your age can help you recognize if and when your heart rate is abnormal, which may be an indication that it’s time to go to the doctor.

As we get older, the range of what’s considered to be a healthy normal resting heart rate will change.  

The average healthy adult will have a resting heart rate of 60 bpm or higher. Although the resting heart rate between 60 and 100 bpm is considered to be normal in clinical practice, those with a resting heart rate higher than 80 bpm could have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

While it’s possible to push the heart rate to 130 bpm or even 200 bpm by exercising, a heart that’s beating this high on a regular basis requires medical attention. The same is true for a heart that’s beating consistently below 60 bpm. Athletes are an exception to this because their high fitness levels naturally lower their resting heart rate.

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How to measure heart rate

Measuring your heart rate is easy to do if you follow some simple steps. The easiest place to measure your heart rate is on your wrist, just below the base of the thumb. Place your index and middle fingers between the bone and tendon at the base of your thumb. Once you feel your pulse, count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds. Once you’ve counted how many pulses, you’ll multiply that number by four. This gives you the total amount of times your heart beats in one minute. For example, if your heart beats 18 times in 15 seconds, your heart rate is 72 bpm (18 bpm x 4). If you want to avoid math, you can set a timer for 60 seconds and count how many beats you feel in that time to find your heart rate. To get the most accurate reading, measure your heart rate a few times and then calculate the average of the results by adding the numbers together and dividing them by the amount of measurements you took. 

It’s important to measure your heart rate when you’re in a relaxed state. If you take your pulse after any strenuous activity, you won’t get an accurate reading. You should wait to take your resting heart rate for one to two hours after exercising and an hour after consuming caffeine, according to Harvard Health.

While you can always measure your heart rate on your own, it can be beneficial to measure it with a heart rate monitor. There are many different types of heart rate monitors available, but the most common are worn on the wrist or as a chest strap. Wrist heart rate monitors often come as watches with multiple purposes. It can be helpful to continuously measure your heart rate because it can show you trends, such as highs and lows while resting and exercising. Over time, it can give you insight into how healthy your heart is. 

Is pulse the same as heart rate? 

Although used often interchangeably with heart rate, a pulse is the pressure in the arteries that increases briefly as the heart pushes out more blood. A heart rate is how fast the heart beats. Measuring your heart rate requires feeling for your pulse, the pressure you feel every time your heart beats. 

What are the different ways to feel your pulse? 

There are multiple places where you can effectively feel your pulse. These include the wrist, inside of the elbow, side of the neck, top or inner side of the foot, groin, temple, and behind the knee. As long as you can feel your pulse, it does not matter which place you choose.

What factors affect heart rate?

A person’s heart rate will vary throughout the day based on external and personal factors, such as the following:

• • High air temperatures and humidity: When temperatures and humidity increase, the heart pumps more blood, so the heart rate will increase as well.
  • Obesity: Studies show that obesity causes the heart to beat faster because high levels of fat in the body lead to a higher amount of blood. This means the heart has to work harder to pump blood to every part of the body.
  • Medications: Some medications can affect how fast the heart beats. High blood pressure medications, such as beta blockers, can slow down the pulse. On the other hand, taking too much thyroid medication could cause the heart rate to increase.
  • Body position: If you’re resting, sitting, or standing, your heart rate will likely remain the same. If you go from lying or sitting to standing, this could cause your heart rate to increase for about 15 to 20 seconds because your heart had to move more blood to your muscles.
  • Age: Aging changes the heart and blood vessels, according to the National Institute on Aging. As people get older, their hearts can’t beat as fast during physical activity or times of stress. However, resting heart rates don’t change significantly with age.
  • Gender: When it comes to differences in gender, women have average resting heart rates that are higher than men’s, but studies have shown that women typically have better cardiac function in the face of cardiac disease than men do.
  • Emotions: If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, frustrated, or fearful, your heart rate will increase. This is because these types of emotions release stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline, which tell the heart to beat faster. If you’re feeling relaxed, calm, and safe, your heart rate will drop to a lower level.
  • Eating habits: Consuming large amounts of sodium can cause the heart to beat faster. When the body has too much sodium, it tries to dilute it by increasing fluid reabsorption in the kidneys. This results in increased blood volume levels, which makes the heart pump faster. A diet high in saturated fat can indirectly increase heart rates because bad fats result in high cholesterol levels and contribute to changes in cardiac activity.
  • Exercise: Evidence shows that exercising regularly decreases the resting heart rate over time and the risk of mortality from having a high resting heart rate.
  • Medical conditions: Heart diseases and lung diseases can increase a resting heart rate. Overactive thyroid disorders, such as Graves’ disease and toxic goiter, are a common cause of an elevated heart rate.
  • Family history of certain medical conditions: Some heart conditions are hereditary. If you have a family history of heart or blood pressure problems, you might be predisposed to having a higher resting heart rate and an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

• Alcohol: Consuming alcohol can cause a temporary increase in heart rate and blood pressure. However, drinking alcohol long-term is associated with an on-going increase in heart rate, high blood pressure, weakened heart muscles, and an irregular heart rate. 

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Maximum and target heart rate

It’s important to know what your maximum heart rate should be in order to avoid causing harm to your heart or body. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), your target heart rate while doing moderately intense activities should be about 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. During vigorous exercise, it should be about 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate.

If you exceed your maximum heart rate, you may experience sore joints, sore muscles, or musculoskeletal injuries. Heart rate monitors are great to wear while exercising because they tell you your heart rate in real-time and can help you stay in an appropriate range.

RELATED: How exercise affects your blood pressure

How to lower heart rate (short- and long-term approaches)

If your heart rate is too high, there are ways to lower it safely. Your heart rate could be high after exercising or because you’re feeling stressed or anxious. 

Here are some fast-acting methods that can help lower a fast heart rate:

• Breathing exercises: You can use your breathing to raise the aortic pressure in your heart, which will lower your heart rate. Close your mouth and nose and raise the pressure in your chest. To do this,  inhale for five to eight seconds, hold it for three to five seconds, and then exhale slowly. This can be repeated several times. 
• Taking a bath: This can help you relax and slow down your heart rate. 
• Light yoga: Calming yoga or meditation can help you relax and bring down a high heart rate.
• Moving to a cooler location: If your heart rate is raised because you’re too hot, moving to a cooler location will help decrease it. 

Here are some long-term solutions that can help you achieve a healthy heart rate: 

• Exercising regularly: Starting and keeping an exercise program will help decrease resting heart rates over time.
• Eating healthy: Healthy diets that contain whole grains, leafy greens, fruits, and omega-3 fatty acids are great for supporting long-term heart health and will help keep heart disease at bay.
• Quitting smoking: Non-smokers have a lowered risk of recurrent heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.
• Staying hydrated: Drinking enough water allows the heart to pump blood more easily throughout the body.  

RELATED: How to take care of your heart during pregnancy

When to call your doctor

The heart is arguably the most important organ in the body. If something goes wrong, the consequences are sometimes fatal. Some heart problems may not be as detrimental as a heart attack, but this doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously. Signs you should seek medical care include:

• Rapid heart rate
• Irregular heart rate
• Chest palpitations
• Chest pain
• Unusually low heart rate
• High or low heart rate with dizziness
• High or low heart rate with shortness of breath

You should go to the doctor if your heart rate has been within a normal range and suddenly is not. This might indicate you have a heart problem, such as an arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heart rhythm, tachycardia, which is when the heart beats consistently over 100 bpm, or bradycardia, which is a low heart rate that’s less than 60 bpm.    

“You should seek emergency care if your rapid heart rate is resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, or dizziness,”  says Evan Jacobs, MD, the Regional Medical Director in Cardiovascular Services at Conviva Care Centers. “In general, a sustained heart rate above 130 beats per minute, regardless of symptoms, should prompt urgent evaluation. Your primary care doctor or cardiologist should be alerted to rates between 100 and 130 beats per minute and can decide on the need for emergency care on a case-by-case basis.”

Even if you have a normal heart rate, it is important to see your primary care provider at least once a year. Measuring your heart rate is a standard part of an annual checkup. It is important to be honest with your provider and let him or her know about any concerns you may have. Your provider can evaluate your heart and help you prevent potential cardiovascular risks. Staying on top of annual checkups can help stop future health issues in their tracks.