What is a dangerous Heart Rate? Normal heart rate for Adults

Heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in one minute. It’s a simple measure of how hard your heart works during rest or activities.

Heart rate is one of the vital signs that is checked regularly each time you visit your doctor or when you are admitted to the hospital.

Your heart rate is lower when you are resting and higher when you do any type of activity, or feel stressed or anxious.

When you exercise, your heart needs to work harder, which increases your heart rate. As soon as you rest, the heart rate begins to gradually decrease and returns to its normal level, usually within an hour.

What is a dangerously low heart rate?

When the heart does not work the way it is supposed to and develops an abnormally slow heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute, the condition is known as bradycardia. Bradycardia can be life threatening if the heart cannot maintain a rate to pump enough oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.

The heart muscle is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body.

Normal heart rate for adults

The normal pulse for healthy adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. The pulse rate can fluctuate and increase with exercise, illness, injury, and emotions. Women 12 years of age and older, in general, tend to have a faster heart rate than men.

Athletes, such as runners, who do a lot of cardiovascular conditioning, can have a heart rate close to 40 beats per minute and not experience problems.

When to worry about low heart rate?

Diagnosis will usually begin when the doctor takes a medical history and performs a physical exam. During the physical exam, the doctor will listen to the patient’s heart to detect if there is an abnormal heart rate.

Patients are also asked for a detailed description of their symptoms. Symptoms may suggest bradycardia. If so, or if an abnormal heart rate is observed, the doctor may order an EKG to confirm it. An EKG is a painless procedure that records the electrical activity of the heart.

Treatment will vary from patient to patient and will depend on the type, severity, and cause of your condition.

In some cases, when the abnormal heart rhythm is caused by an underlying condition, treatment may focus on addressing that underlying condition. Treatment options may include adjusting current medication and sometimes surgery.

In some cases, surgery to implant a pacemaker may be necessary if other treatment options do not adequately address the condition.

Heart rate and oxygen saturation

Pulse oximetry measures the amount of oxygen carried in the blood, as a percentage. The measurement is taken on the finger with a pulse oximeter. This measurement is known as Sp02, the peripheral oxygen saturation, and is an estimate of Sa02, the arterial oxygen saturations.

Hemoglobin in red blood cells carries oxygen, a small amount dissolves in the blood. Each hemoglobin molecule can carry 4 oxygen molecules. If all of your hemoglobin has four oxygen molecules attached to them, your blood would be ‘saturated’ with oxygen and you would have 100% SpO2.

Most people do not have 100% oxygen saturations, so a range of 95-99% is considered normal.

Anything below 95% is an indicator of hypoxia, a lack of oxygen that perfuses the tissues.

Reduced SpO2 is the most reliable sign of hypoxia in a sick person. Increased respiratory rate is associated with hypoxia but, again, evidence suggests that this link is not strong enough, or even present in all cases, to be relied upon as a sign of hypoxia.

The pulse oximeter is a quick diagnostic tool that allows you to measure and monitor the oxygenation levels of the sick person. Knowing the victim’s Sp02 will also allow you to administer an adequate amount of oxygen if it is within her abilities.

A reduction of 3% or more in SpO2, even if it is within normal saturations, is an indicator for a more complete evaluation of the patient, because this may be the first evidence of an acute disease.