resting heartbeat an independent predictor of life span

[Khufu]

Good to know. At age 63 my own RHR ranges from 38 to 44 bpm.

Regimens: Heart Rate and Longevity - NYTimes.com

Danish researchers gave physical exams to 5,249 healthy middle-aged and elderly men beginning in 1971. In 1985 and 1986, they tracked survivors, of whom there were 3,354. Of these, 2,798 had sufficient data on heart rate and oxygen consumption for the analysis. Researchers followed them through 2011.

After controlling for physical fitness and many other health and behavioral factors, they found that the higher the resting heart rate, the greater the risk for death. Compared with men with rates of 50 beats a minute or less, those at 71 to 80 beats had a 51 percent greater risk. At 81 to 90 beats, the rate of death was doubled, and over 90 it was tripled.

 

[Dawg52]

I wish I had a low heart rate, but it has always been in the high 70's low 80 range. Switching to decafe has helped. My blood pressure is in the low normal range though. Maybe that will help offset.

 

[frank]

my rhr is 60 has been for a long time.

 

[kcowan]

Mine is 56. DWs is 95. She is 3 years younger. I will miss her!

Seriously, most studies are BS.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

As a lifelong athlete, I have been checking my RHR for many years. The lowest reading is best obtained before rising in the AM.
My range has been the same as yours - 38 (younger and very fit) - 44/45 today (older and less fit), never over 50. Another + vote for the lifespan predictor.

 

[JakeBrake]

My local blood bank has rejected me a couple of time for having a pulse of less than 50. They usually check my pulse 3 times during the interview. I guess I should run around the block before entering the blood bank.

 

[RunningBum]

I had them say they'd check it a second time, and if I wanted to get up and swing my arms around, that might not be a bad idea! I just hit 44 this time and they didn't take it again. Been going to this place for about 10 years and they know I run so I don't know if the rules have changed or if the nurse can override it or if she just writes down a bigger number because she knows I've never had a problem.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Just for the heck of it, last week I went for a visit to my old cardiologist that worked on me when I had my heart attack in 2004. At that time he tried to insert a stent but couldn't get it to fit. I was awake on the table while this was going on and I know he was disappointed he couldn't get the job done. Two days later I had a single bypass to take care of the problem. Anyway, during my visit last week he mentioned that my heart rate was too low at 47 and took me off one of my meds (metoprolol tartrate) to get my rhr back up to a "normal"rate. Not sure I understand all this but I'm going to read up on it.

 

[george76]

Mine is 56. DWs is 95. She is 3 years younger. I will miss her!

Seriously, most studies are BS.

Just as an FYI - They only studied males in this study. It may or may not relate to women.

 

[Dawg52]

Seriously, most studies are BS.

I hope so, otherwise I'm doomed.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Sinus tachycardia (rapid heart rate of otherwise normal character) may be a marker for difficult-to-detect heart conditions (such as valvular disease, intermittent atrial fibrilllation missed on various monitoring schemes, diabetic and other myopathies) as well as for noncardiologic diseases that incidentally affect the heart, such as hyperthyroidism, pulmonary hypertension, sleep apnea and others. The study examined some of these but likely not all.

I am always reluctant to attribute cause and effect in such scenarios. You don't know what you don't know.

 

[scrinch]

After controlling for physical fitness and many other health and behavioral factors, they found that the higher the resting heart rate, the greater the risk for death.

So to state it the other way around, the lower the heart rate, the lower the risk for death?

This reminds me of the old joke about the airplane captain who came over the intercom and announced that the plane had lost one of its four engines...nothing to worry about...the plane could fly very easily on the remaining three, but their arrival would be 15 minutes late. A little while later the pilot came back and announced that they had lost a second engine....again no problem...but they would be arriving 45 minutes late. Half an hour later he made a third announcement that he was sorry to announce that the plane had lost its third engine. Again, flying this way is perfectly safe, but they would arrive an hour and a half late. At this point one of the passengers, a little piqued, looked to his neighbor and said, "I sure hope we don't lose that last engine. If we do, we'll be up here all night!"

So by analogy I'm guessing that a resting heart rate of zero wouldn't make you immortal?

 

[braumeister]

Lance Armstrong has been reported to have a resting heart rate of 32, so he'll probably be with us for quite a while yet.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

It is possible to have too low a HR. An athlete friend had a RHR of 28. After several scarey fainting episodes, she opted for a pacemaker at the tender age of 43. If I heard her correctly, they set her RHR to 60.

 

[timeasterday]

It is possible to have too low a HR. An athlete friend had a RHR of 28. After several scarey fainting episodes, she opted for a pacemaker at the tender age of 43. If I heard her correctly, they set her RHR to 60.

Wow, 28 is on the scary side of low! Mine usually stays somewhere in the 40's when I get really relaxed. Sometimes I get dizzy when I stand up and start walking. Gotta take it slowly!

 

[Live And Learn]

I will prefer to look at this as good news in that if true, I will not deplete my portfolio before I die