Health and Heart Rate

Heart rate is a common indicator of health used by healthcare and fitness professionals. Physical activity can affect your body's need for oxygen and your heart rate adapts to changes in your body's need for oxygen. For example, your heart rate is higher during exercise that it is during sleep, because your body needs more oxygen during exercise.

Resting Heart Rate

The resting heart rate is your heart rate while at rest. The American Heart Association suggests that the best time to determine your resting heart rate is in he morning, before getting out of bed after a good night's sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic website, a normal resting heart rate for an adult ranges between 60 and 100 beats-per-minute. Lower heart rates generally imply more efficient heart functioning and better cardiovascular health. For example, a well-trained adult athlete may have resting heart rate between 40 and 60 beats-per-minute.

Maximum Heart Rate

Your maximum heart rate or MHR is the upper limit of your cardiovascular system's capacity during physical activity. You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting the number of your age in years from 220. The National Federation of Personal Trainers Manual suggests that in some cases "maximum aerobic capacity" and "maximum heart rate" are interchangeable terms. According to the Cleveland Clinic website, physical activity that brings your heart rate beyond 85 percent of your MHR increases cardiovascular and orthopedic health risks.

Target Heart Rate

Your target heart rate is the heart rate you try to maintain during exercise or athletic training for fitness improvement or health maintenance. According to the National Federation of Personal Trainers Certification Manual the average cardiorespiratory conditioning exercise intensity for a healthy adult is between 60 and 70 percent of his maximum heart rate.

Bradycardia

Bradycardia is a heart rhythm disorder that occurs when your heart rate is abnormally slow and drops below 60 beats-per-minute. Your heart may not pump enough oxygen-rich blood throughout your body at low heart rates. A slow heart rate may or may not signal a health problem. A physically fit person may have a heart that can pump enough blood with less than 50 beats-per-minute while at rest. According to the Mayo Clinic website, pacemaker implants may correct bradycardia and help your heart maintain an appropriate rate.

Tachycardia

Tachycardia occurs when your heart beats faster than normal. Tachycardia occurs when an abnormality in your heart produces rapid electrical signals that control your heart rate. Your heart may not pump enough blood to rest of your body and deprive your organs and tissues of oxygen if your heart rate is too fast. Tachycardias may cause dizziness, shortness of breath or heart palpitations. Tachycardia may not cause symptoms or health complications, but may disrupt normal heart function, increase your risk of stroke or cause sudden heart attack and death.