Resting Heart Rate (Read 1605 times)

    Doctor(s),

    Why is a lower resting heart rate better than a higher resting heart rate?

     

    Sleep 7 hours.... = 420 minutes

    -Athletic resting HR - 50 beats per minute = 21,000 beats during 7 hours of sleep

    -Non-Athletic resting HR - 70 beats per minute = 29,400 beats during 7 hours of sleep

     

    Why is it "good" to have a lower resting HR?

    I'm looking for an answer unrelated to athletic performance.  I'm not looking for an answer that says 'because it'll make you faster during a race'.

     

    Thanks,

    Life Goals:

    #1: Do what I can do

    #2: Enjoy life

     

     

      your heart has a factory limit on the total number of beats.  when you reach that limit you die.  that's why elephants live longer than hummingbirds. 

       

       

       

       

        I'm no doctor, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night, but doesn't it simply mean that your heart doesn't have to work as hard to do your every day tasks (i.e. live)? And, if your heart doesn't have to work as hard, that seems like a good thing. 

          I'm no doctor, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night, but doesn't it simply mean that your heart doesn't have to work as hard to do your every day tasks (i.e. live)? And, if your heart doesn't have to work as hard, that seems like a good thing. 

           

          I like the answer (makes sense).... but, why, then, would we exercise, and stress out our heart for an hour or two, and make it work harder than normal?

           

          Wouldn't it be better to always be between 70 & 100?

           

          BTW, I like Doug's response as well.  I've thought often about how close to that final beat I may be....  Doesn't seem like it's a great thing to think about though...

          Life Goals:

          #1: Do what I can do

          #2: Enjoy life

           

           

            I like the answer (makes sense).... but, why, then, would we exercise, and stress out our heart for an hour or two, and make it work harder than normal?

             

            Wouldn't it be better to always be between 70 & 100?

             

            BTW, I like Doug's response as well.  I've thought often about how close to that final beat I may be....  Doesn't seem like it's a great thing to think about though...

             

            That same question could be applied to why do anything strenuous?  When we stress our bodies, the body becomes stronger by over-compensating for that stress.  If you never stressed it, you'd have atrophy. 

             

            Over the weekend I was talking with a elderly neighbor man whom I see walking nearly every morning, regardless of the weather. It took him having an accident at work to start exercising. He realized his body was falling apart.  It was refreshing to hear this older man state that he thinks everyone needs to exercise every day if they don't want their body to wither away. 

            Wing


            Joggaholic

              I'm no doctor, and I didn't stay at a holiday inn express last night, but doesn't it simply mean that your heart doesn't have to work as hard to do your every day tasks (i.e. live)? And, if your heart doesn't have to work as hard, that seems like a good thing. 

               

              Doesn't how hard the heart works relate to both HR and blood pressure? If so, then I assume having low HR and low BP (not abnormally low of course) is better than high HR and high BP, but what about low HR + high BP vs high HR + low BP, which is generally "better"?

                Doesn't how hard the heart works relate to both HR and blood pressure? If so, then I assume having low HR and low BP (not abnormally low of course) is better than high HR and high BP, but what about low HR + high BP vs high HR + low BP, which is generally "better"?

                 

                No clue about BP and it's affect on HR and fitness. 

                  Person A:

                  1 hour of excercise per day at 140 beats a minute

                  23 hours resting at 50 beats per minute

                   

                  Person B:

                  24 hours resting at 65 beats per minute

                   

                  who has a heart beating more in a day?  The answer isn't even close. 

                   

                   

                   

                   

                  Trent


                  Good Bad & The Monkey

                    Why would you think that a lower HR is better, per se?

                     

                    Why would you think that a lower number of heartbeats in a [insett time period] is better?

                      Person A:

                      1 hour of excercise per day at 140 beats a minute

                      23 hours resting at 50 beats per minute

                       

                      Person B:

                      24 hours resting at 65 beats per minute

                       

                      who has a heart beating more in a day?  The answer isn't even close. 

                       

                      This is what I was hoping the answer might be and where the dialogue might go....

                       

                      Yes, quite interesting looking at it from that perspective.  And that supports your original post, too...

                      Life Goals:

                      #1: Do what I can do

                      #2: Enjoy life

                       

                       

                        Your heart is a muscle like any other...

                        If you overstress it, it will eventually fail like any other muscle.  If you fail to take care of it, same result.

                         

                        If you exercise it responsibly like other muscles and maintain it properly, it becomes stronger and able to do more work.  Heart, Lungs, Leg & Core muscles are all part of the running equation.

                         

                        This is the reasoning behind targeted HR training, to know what your heart is capable of, ie... what are your acceptable HR limits and at what durations you can sustain them at to achieve best aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

                        What was I chasing again?

                        Trent


                        Good Bad & The Monkey

                          Your heart is a muscle like any other...

                          If you overstress it, it will eventually fail like any other muscle.  If you fail to take care of it, same result.

                           

                          What evidence do you have that hearts fail because they are overstressed? 

                           

                          Why do most hearts fail?  Hint: it has nothing to do with work or exertion, and has everything do do with other factors.


                          Why is it sideways?

                            I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that a low heart rate is an effect, not a cause, of generally good aerobic conditioning. Insofar as aerobic conditioning is correlated with good health, then it is a "good thing" to have a low heart rate. 

                             

                            The OP's question seems to me to put carts before horses.

                            Trent


                            Good Bad & The Monkey

                              Right.  Jeff gets it.  Heart Rate is a classical confounder.  The cause of better health outcomes is NOT the Heart Rate, but aerobic conditioning.  Aerobic conditioning causees a lower heart rate and better health outcomes.

                              Trent


                              Good Bad & The Monkey

                                This is the reasoning behind targeted HR training, to know what your heart is capable of, ie... what are your acceptable HR limits and at what durations you can sustain them at to achieve best aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

                                 

                                No, this is NOT what HR training is about.  HR training has to do with HR as an indicator of effort, where effort indicates whether you are using aerobic or anaerobic respiration predominantly when fueling your exercise.