Himalaya Harbinger, Uttarakhand Bureau
Your heart is one of the most important organs, which helps pump life-sustaining blood through your body and constantly sends oxygen to your cells, taking away waste, among other vital functions. Therefore, it is essential to educate oneself about the measures that indicate the health of our heart.
On December 21, Dr Alok Chopra, a cardiologist and functional medicine expert from Delhi with 40 years of extensive experience, shared a video educating his followers about one number that quietly reveals how strong your heart really is. Here’s how to know what that 1 number is.
1 number that quietly reveals how strong your heart really is
According to the cardiologist, it’s not your cholesterol or your blood pressure that can easily indicate how strong your heart really is. In fact, that one number is your resting heart rate
What is resting heart rate? Dr Chopra explained that the number of beats your heart takes each minute when you’re sitting calmly or lying down is called your resting heart rate. “It’s one of the simplest yet most powerful clues about your heart fitness,” he emphasised.
The cardiologist further explained, “For most people, a healthy range sits between 60 and 80 beats a minute. Athletes or highly fit individuals may have resting heart rates in the 40s and 50s because each beat pumps out more blood. Think of it this way: a less trained heart might need 70 beats to move the same blood volume that a fit heart manages in 50.” That’s efficiency at its best.
However, there’s a flip side to this, too: “A consistently high resting heart rate could mean that your heart is under stress,” the cardiologist noted
High resting heart rate reasons
Poor sleep
Dehydration
Stress
Excess caffeine
Underlying medical condition.
Dr Chopra indicated that the good news is that you can train your heart. Here’s how:
Exercise
Meditation
Hydration
Good nutrition
Quality sleep
According to Dr Chopra, all the above factors help lower and stabilise your resting heart rate. “Here’s your tip: track your resting heart rate over time. A sudden jump upwards may be your body’s early warning system, telling you something is off before bigger problems show up,” he added.
