AboutTodd Bublitz, RCEP Expertise I can answer questions on Cholesterol & Lipids, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and preventive cardiology. I can also explain the risk factors for cardiovascular disease and most cardiac diagnostic tests and procedures.
Experience I have 17 years experience in cardiovascular disease prevention, rehabilitation and education. Researcher in cardiovascular exercise, cardiac function and cardiac testing. I developed and maintain Lipid-Clinic.com
Also run Nuclear Cardiology Research Organizations National Lipid Association
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Question Is it better to aim for a lower heart rate or higher one?(I mean heart rate at rest)
I heard the more you exercise, the lower your heart rate is and means you're very fit because you need less pumps to deliver the same blood, but this doesn't make sense because If you have a pulse under 30, the ecg in a hospital would start buzzing! So following through, if an athlete enters a hospital, he will start receiving many unneeded treatments!How could they know the difference. Please explain.
Answer Matt,
A pulse of 30 or less is not normal even for an elite athlete (unless maybe they are deep alseep). The professionals in a hospital are trained and paid to know and understand the difference between a healthy low heart rate and an unhealthy low heart rate. Among several criteria used are the blood pressure and how the person feels. If a person has a low heart rate (say, around 40-50) and they are resting, feeling fine and have a normal blood pressure (and they are a trained athlete), then everything is probably fine. If any person goes to the hospital and has a heart rate of 40-50 and he feels faint and has a low blood pressure, then things are not fine.
Remember that an athlete may have a lower resting heart rate than many of us, but their heart rate will go up (just like ours) when the become active (like getting up to go the the bathroom). We will look at things like this when evaluating normal or abnormal heart rates in the hospital.
Your question could require a long, involved discussion to answer fully. If you have other more specific questions, please feel free to ask.
