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Resting Heart Rates Vary Widely, Wearable Tech Reveals
Digital vital signs offer early warning for potential health problems and make huge studies possible
Doctors have long known that normal resting heart rate, which is used as one measure of health, varies significantly from person to person. In a new study, billed as the largest of its kind, researchers used data from wearable fitness trackers to establish an even wider range for “normal,” along with notable variations in a given person’s readings.
The finding does not discount potential risks of unusually high resting heart rate (more on that below), but it offers a more informed view of the measurement. And along with other research, it points to the value of constant readings of digital vital signs from smartwatches and other wearable technology for large-scale clinical studies, and shows how people can leverage the technology as an early warning system for potential health problems.
Here’s the conventional thinking on heart rate:
- Normal resting heart rate is often said to be 60 to 100 beats per minute. Most adults, when relaxed, have a heart rate below 90. The rate is thought to be affected by a host of things, including age, body mass index and sleep duration.
- Lower rates are…
