Normal heart rates for children and adults at rest vary over a wide range of beats per minute. In addition to these basic variations, your heart rate at any given time is influenced by a number potential intervening factors, including the specific position of your body. In some cases, changes in the position of your body can trigger the effects of a low blood pressure disorder called postural hypotension.
Basics
Children over the age of 10 and adults normally have heart rates that fall between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Younger children and infants typically have a faster average heart rate, while trained athletes and other serious exercisers can have heart rates as low as 40 beats per minute. When you stand up, lie down or make other changes in your body position, you can temporarily change your current heart rate. Since they are variations on normal heart rates, rate alterations caused by positional changes vary from individual to individual.
Postural Hypotension
Individuals with consistently low average heart rates may have a medically significant condition called bradycardia, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. If you have bradycardia, shifts in your body position associated with standing can trigger episodes of postural hypotension, also called orthostatic hypotension. The underlying cause of this condition is an inability to compensate for the temporary blood-pressure drop that occurs when you stand up. Common symptoms of this disorder include weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness upon standing, confusion, fainting, headache and nausea.
Significance
A number of other factors can influence your heart rate, including your level of physical exertion, general physical fitness, body size, emotional state and use of various medications, as well as the ambient temperature of your surrounding environment. As long as your average heart rate remains within normal levels, the changes associated with body position and these additional factors are typically not medically significant. However, speak to your doctor if you have symptoms of bradycardia. Also consult your doctor if you have symptoms of a consistently rapid heartbeat, also called tachycardia: These include lightheadedness, dizziness, chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and chest pain.
Considerations
Postural hypotension has a number of other potential causes that are not linked to bradycardia-related heart-rate abnormalities, including dehydration, diabetes and nervous-system problems such as multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease. In addition to bradycardia and tachycardia, potential problems with your heart rate include an irregular pulse and a pulse that is abnormally firm or hard to detect. Consult your doctor for more information.
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