What is heart rate
The heart rate is nothing but the number of times our heart beats in a minute. The heart is a central organ of the cardiopulmonary system, which is responsible for delivering oxygen, hormones, and nutrients to individual cells of our body and also removing waste products from the blood. Considering the importance heart has towards the body’s function and survival, it is very important that the heart supplies the right amount of blood at the right rate.
The measure of the amount of blood released from the chamber of the heart is known as cardiac output. It is a product of stroke volume and beats per minute. The normal range of cardiac output is around 4 to 8 liters per minute.
The pulse is often understood as heartbeat or heart rate, which is not the case. it is actually the expansion and contraction of arteries in response to pumping done by the heart. Since the expansion and contraction are a result of an increase in blood flow due to the heart, taking pulse as a direct measure of heart rate is not a problem.
What is resting heart rate?
While normal heart rate doesn't guarantee a disease-free body but a measure of heart rate can be taken as a good benchmark for identifying a vast array of health problems especially the ones relating to cardiac health.
The NIH( United States National Institue of Health) has released a list of normal resting heart rates for people of various age groups. The table for the same is as follows;
| Age | Normal Heart Rate - Beats per minute (BPM) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 months | 70 to 190 |
| From 1 to 11 months | 80 to 160 |
| From 1 to 2 years | 80 to 130 |
| From 3 to 4 years | 80 to 120 |
| From 5 to 6 years | 75 to 115 |
| From 7 to 9 years | 70 to 110 |
| Over 10 years | 60 to 100 |
So, majority of the adult population will have a resting heart rate between 60 to 100 beats per minutes, however, elite endurance athletes are the exception to it, their heart rate can be as low as 45-50 beats per minute. The condition of heart beats above 100 bpm is called tachycardia and condition of the heart beats below 60 bpm is called bradycardia.
Ways of measuring the resting heart rate?
There are various ways in which you can measure your resting heart rate by checking your pulse, some of the common ways are highlighted below.
Basically, under various methods, we need to place your finger our pointer finger, and middle finger at various locations of our body, which will be discussed below and once you feel the pulse, count the beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiple it by 4 to arrive at the beats per minute. For example, if the pulse gives you 22 beats in 15 seconds, then the resultant resting heart rate is 88 bpm.
Let's look at some of the methods, where we can measure pulse and arrive and resting heart rate
| Sr.No | Method | Instruction | Pic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radial Pulse | It is done by placing your fingers on the opposite wrist just below the thumb | Checking Your Heart Rate Manually Place Stock Vector (Royalty Free) 1062950588 (shutterstock.com) |
| 2 | Carotid pulse | It is done by placing your fingers on the side of your windpipe, just below the jaw bone | Young Man Checking Pulse On Color Stock Photo (Edit Now) 1129257008 (shutterstock.com) |
| 3 | Pedal pulse | It is done by placing your fingers above the highest point of the bone that runs along the top of your feet | Pedal pulse Images, Stock Photos & Vectors | Shutterstock |
| 4 | Brachial pulse | Slightly flex your arm and your inner arm should be facing the ceilingPlace the fingers along the side of your arms just above the crease of the elbows. you should be able to feel the pulse |
Further, we can also use assistive devices that can help us measure the heartbeats very conveniently and accurately. devices that are helpful are as follows’
- at-home blood pressure machines
- digital fitness trackers/wearables
- smartphone applications
- exercise machines, (treadmills, cycles, spin bikes, etc.)
