Understanding Your Resting Heart Rate
Your resting heart rate (RHR) is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you are completely at rest. It's a key indicator of your cardiovascular fitness. A lower RHR generally signifies a more efficient heart, meaning it can pump more blood with each beat.
Factors that can influence your RHR include:
- Fitness Level: Athletes and highly fit individuals typically have lower RHRs.
- Age: RHR can change slightly with age.
- Medications: Certain medications can affect heart rate.
- Stress and Emotions: Anxiety or stress can temporarily increase your RHR.
- Body Temperature: Fever or high body temperature can elevate RHR.
- Body Position: Lying down generally results in a lower RHR than sitting or standing.
How to Measure Your Resting Heart Rate Accurately:
The best time to measure your RHR is first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed or engage in any physical activity. You can find your pulse on your wrist (radial pulse) or your neck (carotid pulse).
To calculate your RHR using this calculator, you'll need to count the number of times your heart beats over a specific, short period (like 15 or 30 seconds) while at rest. Then, you'll convert this to beats per minute (BPM).
For example, if you count 15 heartbeats in 30 seconds, your resting heart rate would be (15 beats / 30 seconds) * 60 seconds/minute = 30 BPM.
function calculateRestingHeartRate() {
var numBeatsInput = document.getElementById("numBeats");
var timePeriodInput = document.getElementById("timePeriod");
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
var numBeats = parseFloat(numBeatsInput.value);
var timePeriod = parseFloat(timePeriodInput.value);
if (isNaN(numBeats) || isNaN(timePeriod) || timePeriod <= 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter valid numbers for heartbeats and time period (greater than 0).";
return;
}
// Calculate heart rate in beats per minute (BPM)
var restingHeartRate = (numBeats / timePeriod) * 60;
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Your estimated Resting Heart Rate is:
" + restingHeartRate.toFixed(2) + " BPM";
}
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