By Mayo Clinic staff Show The better you understand your heart rate, the more you can maximize your movement to give your heart a good workout. What is your heart rate?Your heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute. Your resting heart rate is the heart pumping the lowest amount of blood you need because you're not exercising. If you are sitting or lying down ― and you're calm, relaxed and aren't ill ― your heart rate is normally between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Other factors can affect your heart rate include:
Why your heart rate mattersCardiovascular exercise, also called cardio or aerobic exercise, keeps you and your heart healthy. This specific type of exercise gets your heart rate up and heart beating faster for several minutes at a time. Cardiovascular exercise helps strengthen your heart, allowing it to pump blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body. It also boosts your high-density lipoprotein, or HDL or "good," cholesterol, and lowers your low-density lipoprotein, or LDL or "bad," cholesterol. This may result in less buildup of plaque in your arteries. Learn why you should track physical activity. What's considered normal?Your target heart rate is the minimum heart rate in a given amount of time to reach the level of energy necessary to give your heart a good workout. To find your target heart rate to maximize your cardiovascular exercise, the first step is determining your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. Your target heart rate for moderate exercise is about 50%–85% of your maximum heart rate. Averages by age as a general guide are:
What you can do
Learn more about how to hit your target heart rate. Know your numbersMany wearable activity trackers can monitor your heart rate when you exercise and periodically throughout the day. If you do not have an activity tracker, you can use the radial artery in your wrist or in the carotid artery in your neck. If you have heart disease or long-standing diabetes, it's best to use the artery on your wrist. To find your heart rate manually:
If your heart rate is too high, take it easier. If it is too low, add some intensity and push yourself to get your heart rate closer to your target. If you are just beginning to exercise, aim for the lower range in your target zone and gradually build up over time. Learn more about how to take your pulse. Abnormal heart rateIf you experience irregular heartbeats, including a racing heartbeat, slow heartbeat or a feeling of fluttering in your chest, you may be experiencing a heart arrhythmia. Heart rhythm or heartbeat problems can occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don't work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. If you believe you are experiencing heart rhythm problems, contact your nearest heart care expert. What is a good heart rate for my age?You can estimate your maximum heart rate based on your age. To estimate your maximum age-related heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, for a 50-year-old person, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 50 years = 170 beats per minute (bpm).
What heart rate is too high?Generally speaking, for adults, a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute (BPM) is considered too fast.
Is a heart rate of 80 healthy?What's normal depends on your age and activity level but, generally, a resting heart rate of 60 to 80 beats per minute (BPM) is considered to be in the normal range. If you are an athlete, a normal resting heart rate can be as low as 40 BPM.
Is 72 a good resting heart rate?The normal range is between 50 and 100 beats per minute. If your resting heart rate is above 100, it's called tachycardia; below 60, and it's called bradycardia. Increasingly, experts pin an ideal resting heart rate at between 50 to 70 beats per minute.
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