What is heart rate and what are normal values?

• At rest, your heart rate should not be greater than 90 beats per minute.
• The AHA recommends keeping your heart rate in the range of 60 to 90 beats per minute.
• Learn about what heart rate is and normal values for your age.

Do you know what heart rate is? Every day, the heart contracts approximately 100,000 times a day. This is because its main job is to pump blood throughout the body. To do this successfully, it must maintain a rate that, if significantly altered, could be hazardous.

Before learning more about the subject, you should take into account your heart rate is affected by factors such as age, lifestyle, your fitness level, stress, as well as certain diseases. Find out what your normal heart rate should be!

What is heart rate?

In general terms, heart rate is defined as the number of times the heart contracts in the span of sixty seconds. This will depend on your age, although the American Heart Association recommends monitoring heart levels to verify that they maintain a range between 60 and 100 beats per minute.

This range is appropriate for most people with no underlying diseases, but high performance athletes may have a heart rate of up to 40 beats per minute. If in doubt, it is best to visit the doctor to detect any abnormality in your heartbeat.

Heart Rate: Normal values ​​for adults

Most adults have a heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute, but episodes of anxiety or intense physical activity can make this increase. If you detect that your heart rate at rest is greater than 100 bpm, it is a sign that you should see a doctor immediately.

The lower the heart rate at rest, the better it is for your health since this indicates that your heart is working properly. Of course, if you are an adult who does extreme or high-intensity sports, your heart rate will be lower than normal.

Normal values ​​in children

It is very important that parents are aware of any changes in their children’s heart rate. For example, for babies between 0 and 3 months old, it should range between 100 and 150 beats per minute. In children between 1 and 3 years old, it should be between 70 and 110 bpm.

In children older than twelve, the ideal range is between 55 and 85 bpm. Symptoms such as chest pain, fatigue, dizziness, excessive sweating or syncope are signs that the heartbeat is not within healthy ranges, so you should see a doctor immediately.

What is heart rate? Common causes of abnormal values

The reasons behind irregular values ​​​​in a cardiac rhythm can be numerous. Among them are coronary heart disease, certain medications, low levels of potassium or electrolytes, congenital diseases and changes in the tissues of the heart.

The risks of an irregular heart rate can include stroke, tachycardia, heart failure and, in the most severe cases, sudden death. In the event of any symptoms such as rapid pulse, palpitations, chest pain or fainting, see a doctor immediately.