What is the resting heart rate for normal operation

We are resting but our brain is still awake. This does not mean that the whole body is relaxed. The brain is still functioning normally. When the brain is functioning, the organs of the body are also functioning naturally. When you are quiet, the heart rate should have a normal frequency, and it is best not to exceed a certain range. If it exceeds this range, it is not considered normal operation.

Higher resting heart rate has a greater impact on high blood pressure

Studies have shown that accelerated RHR is an independent risk factor for the development of hypertension. A cohort study of more than 30,000 people showed that for every 10 beats/min increase in heart rate, the incidence of hypertension increased by 8%. Ji Chunpeng et al. included more than 30,000 people with high-normal blood pressure. The results showed that compared with the group with a heart rate of 70-74 beats/min, the risk of developing hypertension in the group with a heart rate of ≥85 beats/min increased by 1.25 times.

Accelerated RHR is also an independent factor affecting the prognosis of patients with hypertension. Studies have shown that hypertensive patients with chronic accelerated heart rate have higher cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality, and for every 10 beats/min increase in heart rate, the risk of death from cardiovascular events increases by 25%, and this effect is independent of the antihypertensive effect.

In addition, people with hypertension and accelerated RHR are more likely to be obese. Palatini et al. observed more than 1,000 patients with hypertension and followed up for 7 years. They found that the proportion of overweight or obesity in those with accelerated RHR was significantly increased.

How to accurately measure resting heart rate

An increase in RHR is a direct reflection of overactivation of the sympathetic nerves in patients with hypertension. Changes in heart rate are easy to observe and perceive, so heart rate is often called a window for evaluating sympathetic nerve activity. An increase in heart rate can cause adverse cardiovascular events and is an important prognostic factor independent of blood pressure.

Current studies mostly use heart rate during follow-up or 24-hour dynamic electrocardiogram to determine whether there is an accelerated resting heart rate, and use four or five quartiles to divide the heart rate of the target population. Generally, a heart rate of >80-85 beats/min is called an accelerated resting heart rate.

Heart rate measurement methods include office heart rate measurement, out-of-office heart rate measurement, self-measurement of heart rate, and dynamic heart rate detection. The data obtained by different measurement methods are different.