PHOENIX, July 11 (Phoenix Times Online) — If a resting pulse keeps landing above 100 beats a minute while you are sitting still, health groups say the next step is usually to look for a cause, not to panic. The American Heart Association, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, British Heart Foundation and Yale Medicine describe 60 to 100 beats per minute as the usual resting range for most adults. They say a resting rate above 100 is generally called tachycardia, or a fast heart rate.
What does a high resting pulse mean?
A higher number does not point to just one problem. The American Heart Association says a fast resting heart rate can be linked to anemia, dehydration, chronic lung disease, severe bleeding, very low blood pressure, heart disease and damage to the heart muscle after a heart attack or heart failure. Harvard Health, Cleveland Clinic, the British Heart Foundation, Yale Medicine and CVS also list infection, fever, an overactive thyroid, stress, anxiety, caffeine or other stimulants, poor physical conditioning, pregnancy and some medicines as possible causes.
That is why one reading does not equal a diagnosis. Harvard Health says clinicians in otherwise healthy people may not worry unless the resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats per minute.
When should people pay attention?
Harvard Health and Henry Ford Health say a fast resting pulse deserves attention if it keeps happening and cannot be explained. Henry Ford Health quoted cardiologist Dr. Keteyian as saying that if a resting heart rate is above 100 or below 50 and cannot be explained by obvious factors such as regular exercise, a doctor should review it.
Yale Medicine says some people with a high resting heart rate feel palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, while others feel no symptoms at all. Yale Medicine also says anemia can be related to menstruation and blood loss, and in older adults it may come from small gastrointestinal bleeds or colon cancer.
How do you check it?
Yale Medicine says a resting pulse can be checked at the wrist, inside the elbow, neck or top of the foot. The clinic says to count beats for 15 seconds and multiply by four. If the beat seems irregular, it can be counted for 30 seconds and multiplied by two, or counted for a full minute.
What do doctors do next?
Yale Medicine says treatment usually focuses on the underlying cause. That can mean iron supplementation for anemia or medication for hyperthyroidism. In other words, the number on its own is often a clue that points doctors toward another problem.
What this means in daily life
For most adults, a resting pulse in the 60 to 100 range is the usual benchmark health groups use. A reading above 100 can happen for short-term reasons, but if it keeps showing up while the body is at rest, the American Heart Association and other groups say it is worth figuring out why. The most common causes named by those groups range from simple triggers such as caffeine or stress to medical problems such as infection, anemia or an overactive thyroid.
