Your heart rate changes with age and can vary depending upon your activity level. When you're active, your heart rate increases due to increased blood pressure since your heart is pumping more blood to keep up with your body's demand for oxygen. When you're inactive, your heart rate is normal and beats at a slower pace.
Measurements
Your heart rate is determined by measuring and recording two types of beats. The first is your systolic number, which represents the maximum amount of pressure exerted as your heart contracts. The second is your diastolic number, or resting number, when your heart is relaxed. Both numbers are measured in units of millimeters of mercury, or mmHg. When a health care provider measures and records your heart rate, it is written as 110/70 mmHg. This number means 110 mmHg is your heart's working number and 70 mmHg is your heart's resting number.
Normal Range
Your heart rate decreases with age. As an infant, a normal heart range is between 100 to 160 beats per minute, or bpm. The resting number is what is measured when considering normal range. Once you reach ages 1 through 10, your heart rate slows to 70 to 120 bpm. After the age of 10, your heart rate remains the same throughout adulthood, and should range between 60 to 100 bpm. Professional, or well-trained, athletes tend to have an even lower resting heart rate of 40 to 60 bpm, due to the strength and fitness level of the cardiac muscle.
Resting Rate
Heart rates are measured by the resting, or diastolic, number to give health care providers a standard baseline of how to determine whether your heart is beating properly since the numbers can vary greatly, depending upon physical activity. If the resting rate of your heart is always very fast or very slow, this can indicate tachycardia or bradycardia. Both of these scenarios can be extremely dangerous to your health.
Considerations
If you feel that your heart isn't beating correctly, visit your health care provider. He can check and monitor your heart rate to determine if it's beating correctly. If it's not, he may order special tests, such as an electrocardiogram to monitor and record all electrical impulses created by your heart. If the test findings conclude you have an irregular heartbeat, your doctor may perform blood testing. Certain medical conditions, such as a weak heart, may require prescription medication.
