In that case, you might want to talk to your doctor about your heart rate to help prevent the risk of health problems like cardiovascular disease.Ĭhecking your resting heart rate is fairly easy. Suppose your resting heart rate is consistently above 80 beats per minute. It’s also in this stage that having a lower heart rate indicates a better state of fitness and a lowered risk of cardiac events, such as heart attacks, which people in this age group are at higher risk. José Báez Escudero, the normal rhythm tends to slow down as people get older as a result of the occasional normal wear and tear on the heart’s electrical system. Women aged 60 and older usually have an average RHR between 70-77 bpm. According to data from Fitbit, women ages 40-49 tend to have the highest average RHR of all users at 67.4 BPM Ages 60-79 The RHR for adult women in this age group starts to transition gradually to a lower estimate. An average healthy 20-year-old woman, for example, has a standard RHR of 74-81 BPM. Women within this age bracket generally have a slightly higher pulse rate than those older. AGEĪs mentioned earlier, on average, women’s heart rates are about 2-7 BPM faster than men’s. The chart below shows normal resting heart rate ranges by age based on data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Ronesh Sinha recommends keeping track of one’s resting heart rate to understand overall health. When left untreated, one study indicated that an elevated RHR could likely increase mortality risk in the long term. Other factors like high body mass index (BMI), excessive drinking of caffeine or alcohol, smoking, constant sleep deprivation, and frequent exposure to high temperatures can increase RHRs. Panic attacks can also cause heart rates to spike and may even feel like a heart attack. A 2019 German study found that those with depression had a higher baseline heart rate and a lower heart rate variation and that a heart rate of roughly 10 to 15 beats per minute was higher than in controls. A resting heart rate may also spike upward due to a negative reaction to medications, elevated thyroid hormone levels, anemia, or infections.ĭepression and anxiety can raise your heart rate over time and are associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Others point out that it could also be a warning sign of a cardiovascular change, like higher blood pressure or early heart disease. Pregnant women’s resting heart rates rise roughly from 10-20 bpm on average since carrying an unborn baby inside adds stress throughout the body, including the cardiovascular and circulatory systems.

Each heartbeat produces less blood flow, so they need to pump faster to achieve the same output. The RHR for women is slightly different compared to men since the size of women’s hearts is smaller than men’s, affecting heart rate. It could also mean that the heart muscle is weakened by a virus or another problem that forces it to beat more often to pump enough blood to the rest of the body.Ī person’s normal resting heart rate tends to change as they age, especially the normal bpm for women, which is 2-7 BPM faster than men’s on average. However, heart rates consistently above 100 per minute, even when the person is resting, can be attributed to a condition called tachycardia.

Average pulse rate