Heart rates & affecting factors

The normal resting heart rate of an adult is from 60-100 beats (bpm). something to keep in mind is that a lower resting heart rate can imply that the heart is more efficient, if it is unusually high or low there could be an undetected problem, although there is a wide range of normal heart rates.

There are various factors that can affect heart rate, the main ones being:

• Physical activity: Accelerates to pump more blood into muscles

• Fitness/health: Diseases such as hyper-tension, or an unhealthy diet lead to an accelerated resting heart rate. A healthier body may have a more efficient heart, lowering the heart rate.

• Air temperature: Accelerates to move blood normally and to skin to cool down

• The bodies position: Gravity will have an affect on the pull of where blood goes, causing the heart to pump faster to supply the whole body.

• Emotions: Such as excitement and stress.

• Body size: If the body is larger heart rate is higher as the heart tries to supply blood to the whole body.

• Medication: Like medication against hypertension which will slow down your heart rate so that it isn't beating to rapidly.

Reference

Laskowski, E. (2015). What's a normal resting heart rate? [Web portal]. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/heart-rate/faq-20057979