IT’S NATIONAL HEART HEALTH MONTH. How Does Your HEART RATE?

       IT’S NATIONAL HEART HEALTH MONTH 

                                            

                                             How Does Your HEART RATE?

Your resting heart rate (RHR) is a simple yet valuable tool that can give you an idea of your overall health. It’s easy to determine:  sit comfortably still or recline for several minutes until you feel at complete rest then count your pulse (or use a pulse oximeter if you happen to have one) for a full minute. That number is your resting heart rate. 

What is normal? While there is a range of normal (generally from 60 to 100 beats per minute), the general rule of thumb is LOWER is BETTER. 

There are many factors that can have POSITIVE effect the RHR meaning they help keep it low:

•  Generally the better your fitness level the lower the heart rate so athletes and people who exercise regularly tend to have resting heart rates below 60. Remember that your heart is a muscle and a lower resting heart rate implies more efficient function of the heart muscle.
• A heart healthy diet that includes omega 3 fatty acids 
• Adequate hydration 
• Adequate amount of restorative sleep

Here are some things that have a NEGATIVE impact on resting heart rate meaning they keep it high:

• Stress!!! Stress triggers the release of the fight or flight hormone, cortisol, which increases heart rate. Many of us these days live in a state of constant high stress causing persistently elevated levels of cortisol and therefore higher heart rates. 
• Alcohol intake.

Lastly, heart rate generally increases with age and women often have higher resting heart rates than men. 

Notice how many of the above factors can combine to affect resting heart rate: stress and too much alcohol are associated with poor sleep and poor dietary choices as well as less desire to engage in physical activity. Can you see the connections on how these conditions can result in higher RHR?

So far we’ve seen what resting heart rate is, how to determine yours and things can affect it in positive or negative ways But how does apply to your health?

There is a connection between higher resting heart rate and chronic diseases such as  hypertension, higher triglycerides, higher blood sugars and insulin resistance.

We know that movement is good for your heart and your heart. What about your heart rate when you exercise? What should be your target?

To determine your ideal range of heart rate with exercise, get out a calculator! For most workouts aim for what is known as Zone 2 – that’s the fat burning zone! Calculate your Zone 2 range like this:

First calculate your maximum heart rate: 220-age

Then to determine your Zone 2 heart rate range:

220 minus your age and multiply that number by .64 to get the lower end of the range. 

220 minus your age and multiply that number by .76 to give you the upper end of the Zone 2 range.

Here’s an example using someone age 50:

Maximum  heart rate: 220 – 50 = 170

Target exercise heart rate range for fat burning:

220 – 50 = 170 – maximum predicted heart rate

170 x .64 = 109    and   170 x .76 = 129  for a target range of 109-129.

While Zone 2 is a good goal for most workouts, you still want to “train” your heart muscle some days by doing interval type exercise even for a few minutes. This will help you improve your resting heart rate over time.

Not interested in counting your pulse and doing math? There are a variety of wearable monitoring devices available that can do that (and much more) for you! 

For more information, please consider making our practice part of your health care team. Call 717-795-9566 and speak to one of our new patient coordinators.