Heart Rate

Heart rate

Your heart rate, also known as pulse rate, is the number of times your heart beats within a certain period of time, usually one minute. Your heart rate can be an indicator of health and fitness.

Resting heart rate

A typical resting heart rate for a healthy adult is 60-100 beats per minute. Active and fit people may have a lower resting heart rate.

Target heart rate during exercise

Increasing your heart rate during aerobic (cardio) exercise helps your heart become stronger and more efficient. Target heart rate is typically expressed as a percentage of your maximum safe heart rate during physical activity.

To ensure you are getting a good workout while not overtaxing your heart, keep your heart rate within the recommended target ranges for the following exercise intensities. Note: If you have a heart condition or take heart or blood pressure medication, ask your healthcare provider what your target heart rates should be.

Moderate-intensity physical activity

For moderately intense activity, your target heart rate should be 64-76% of your maximum heart rate. 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 45-year-old, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 45 years = 175 beats per minute (bpm). The 64% and 76% levels would be:

• 64% level: 175 x 0.64 = 112 bpm, and
• 76% level: 175 x 0.76 = 133 bpm

The example shows that moderate physical activity for a 45-year-old will require that the heart rate remains between 112 and 133 bpm during physical activity.

Vigorous-intensity physical activity

Your target heart rate should be 77- 93% of your maximum heart rate for vigorous workouts. To figure out this range, follow the same formula used above, except change “64 and 76%” to “77 and 93%”. For example, for a 35-year-old, the estimated maximum age-related heart rate would be calculated as 220 – 35 years = 185 beats per minute (bpm). The 77% and 93% levels would be:

• 77% level: 185 x 0.77 = 142 bpm, and
• 93% level: 185 x 0.93 = 172 bpm

The example indicates that vigorous physical activity for a 35-year-old will require that the heart rate remains between 142 and 172 bpm during physical activity.

Tracking heart rate with MyNetDiary

If you monitor your heart rate with an Apple Watch or a Fitbit, Garmin, or Withings activity tracker, you can choose to import these values into your MyNetDiary account. Go to “Me” and select “Apps & Devices.” You can then opt to sync with your tracker and select which information to import into MyNetDiary. You may also manually enter your heart rate in MyNetDiary.

Reference: www.cdc.gov