Listen to your Heart...
Long before Roxette sang those beautiful words, the Heart has always played a vital role in symbolising human emotions. There is no other organ in the human body that gets more poetic attention than the heart. It has always captured the imagination of philosophers, poets and healthcare professionals alike. But is it just figurative or can we actually listen to our hearts ? Modern science has reached a level where we can actually interpret what the heart says.
Objectively speaking, the heart has just one language, the heart-rate, irrespective of which living being it belongs to. A heart-rate is, as the name suggests, the number of times a heart beats per minute. It is one of the vital-signs of the human body and can tell a lot about a person's physical health. There is a general consensus among medical & fitness professionals on what a healthy heart should beat like. It is usually a measure of heart-rate and the rhythm at which the heart is beating. Although a “normal” heart-rate varies from person to person, one can get a good idea on how healthy their heart is by measuring the resting and exercising heart-rates. It is common for children to have a higher resting heart-rate but it progressively slows down as the child grows. A normal resting heart-rate for younger adults above 10 years of age is between 60 and 100 bpm (American Heart Association editorial staff). For highly trained athletes the resting heart-rate can reach as low as 40 bpm.
Another parameter to take into concern here is the maximum heart-rate. The maximum heart-rate is the peak value at which a heart beats when put under vigorous exercise. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that, during Exercise, the maximum heart-rate of a person should be around 220 bpm minus the age of the person (American Heart Association editorial staff). Since each body reacts differently to exercise, the heart-rate is often mentioned in ranges instead of an absolute number. The following table published by the American Heart Association illustrates the average maximum heart-rate and Target heart-rate per age group.
| Age | Target HR Zone 50–85% | Average Maximum Heart Rate 100% |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | 100–170 beats per minute (bpm) | 200 bpm |
| 30 | 95–162 bpm | 190 bpm |
| 35 | 93–157 bpm | 185 bpm |
| 40 | 90–153 bpm | 180 bpm |
| 45 | 88–149 bpm | 175 bpm |
| 50 | 85–145 bpm | 170 bpm |
| 55 | 83–140 bpm | 165 bpm |
| 60 | 80–136 bpm | 160 bpm |
| 65 | 78–132 bpm | 155 bpm |
| 70 | 75–128 bpm | 150 bpm |
Having a track of one’s heart-rate over a period of time not only tells us about the current health but also gives an idea about a person’s lifestyle, eating habits, fitness level and possible health complications in the future. Till a decade ago there used to be a common perception around that vitals signs are only to be measured for people who are in need of medical treatment. Back then we were bound by the technology of the time and measurement of vitals were only possible with the help of a medical professional. Technology has come a long way since then. There are a number of economical and handy off-the-shelf solutions one can invest in to keep track of their vitals. We live in such a cutting-edge technological age where one doesn’t need bulky and expensive ECG machines to check heart rates anymore. Products like Smartwatches and Chest Bands which connect directly to an App on a smartphone are the future (HRDAYIN). Researchers around the world are working hard towards making such portable solutions which people can use at home to get to know their bodies better (Sessa, Francesco, et al.).
Although such solutions cannot replace the insights , expertise and intuition of a trained medical professional, they can be used to increase self-awareness about one's own health. Our heart speaks to us regularly in its own way. We live in such an age where it's easy to ignore the whispers of our heart. With the help of modern technology we are in a position to listen to it and help it to stay healthy. If only we can pay a little more attention to what our body wants, we can lead a healthy and prosperous life. Afterall to love somebody with all your heart, you need to love your heart first.
References...
American Heart Association editorial staff. “All
About Heart
Rate (Pulse).”
American Heart Association, 31 July 2015,https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/the-facts-about-high-blood-pressure/all-about-heart-rate-pulse#.Wg1mcBO0OCU.
Accessed 16 February 2022.
American Heart Association editorial staff. “Target Heart Rates Chart.” American Heart Association,
9 March 2021,
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates
Accessed 15 February 2022.
HRDAYIN. “Heart rate variability, Stress analysis, Corporate wellness, Fitness Observer, Early
Diagnosis, Preventive Diagnosis, Chronic Diseases, Community medicine, Diabetes, Ayurveda, Yoga.”
HRDAYIN - Heart rate variability, Stress analysis, Corporate wellness, Fitness Observer, Early
Diagnosis, Preventive Diagnosis, Chronic Diseases, Community medicine, Diabetes, Ayurveda, Yoga,
https://hrdayin.com/research.html. Accessed 17
February 2022.
“Pulse.” MedlinePlus, 16 January 2021,https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003399.htm
Accessed 16
February 2022.
Sessa, Francesco, et al. “Heart rate variability as predictive factor for sudden cardiac death.”
NCBI, 23 February 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5842851/.
Accessed 17 February
2022.
“Target Heart Rates Chart.” American Heart Association, 9 March 2021,https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates
. Accessed 16
February 2022.
Images...
Photo by Markus Frieauff on Unsplash
