PHOENIX, July 11 (Phoenix Times Online) — Your resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute when you are calm and not moving around. For most adults, the American Heart Association, Cleveland Clinic and British Heart Foundation describe a normal resting range as about 60 to 100 beats per minute.
That number can matter because a pulse that stays above 100 beats per minute at rest is commonly called tachycardia, or a fast heart rate. Doctors say that does not automatically mean a heart emergency, but it can be a clue that something else is going on.
What can make it rise?
The American Heart Association says a fast resting pulse can be linked to heart disease and other heart conditions, but it can also come from noncardiac causes such as anemia, infection, dehydration, fever, overactive thyroid activity, stress, anxiety, caffeine, other stimulants, poor physical conditioning, pregnancy and some medications. Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, Yale Medicine and the British Heart Foundation list similar causes.
Harvard Health says clinicians usually do not worry in otherwise healthy people unless the resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats per minute. The key word is consistently — a brief jump after caffeine, stress or exercise is different from a pulse that stays high while the body is at rest.
What symptoms can go with it?
Yale Medicine cardiologist Srijan Shrestha, MD, says a high resting heart rate may be felt as palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness. But some people have no symptoms at all.
Yale Medicine says anemia in women can be related to menstruation and blood loss, and in older adults it may come from small gastrointestinal bleeds or colon cancer. Shrestha says doctors may treat the cause itself, such as iron supplementation for anemia or medication for hyperthyroidism.
How do doctors check it?
Yale Medicine says a resting pulse can be checked at the wrist, inside the elbow, neck or top of the foot. It can be counted for 15 seconds and multiplied by four. If the pulse feels irregular, Yale Medicine says to count for 30 seconds and multiply by two, or count for a full minute.
For most people, the practical takeaway is not to panic over one high reading, but to notice the pattern. A resting pulse that stays above 100 without an obvious reason is something clinicians use as a clue, not a diagnosis, and the possible cause may be something treatable.
