Heart rate at rest worth checking for women
The resting heart rate is a predictor of future heart attacks, and the faster the heart beats, the greater the risk.
This assessment has been strongest for men, reports the ABC’s Dr Norman Swan, but just under 130,000 women, all post menopausal with no history of heart disease or stroke, were followed for nearly eight years to see what happened to them in relation to their pulse rate counted over 30 seconds after sitting quietly for five minutes.
Women with faster resting pulses were more likely to be obese, older and have other coronary risk factors like high cholesterol and blood pressure. But when these factors were removed statistically, women with a resting pulse of over 76 a minute were 26% more likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease over the next eight years, than women with a resting rate of 62 a minute or less.
Stroke risk wasn’t affected and the influence of heart rate was greater in younger women than older ones.
Dr Swan advised women to “ See your doctor to get your coronary risk factors as low as possible. And get some exercise!”
