Healthy Resting Heart Rate for Men

Heart receives purified blood from lungs and it pumps the blood to all organs of the body. While receiving and pumping the blood, heart relaxes and contracts ceaselessly. This movement of the heart is referred to as "beating of the heart" and counting the beats of the heart helps evaluate heart health. While resting, you can count how many times your heart beats per minute, by pressing your fingers against neck or inside of the wrist. The number you will get will be your resting heart rate (RHR). Healthy resting heart rate for men is slightly lower than that for women.

The heart rate can be counted by counting the pulse rate. The unit used to describe your heart rate or pulse rate is beats per minute (bpm). Having healthy RHR shows that you have a healthy heart and that the heart doesn't have to put extra efforts to pump the blood.

Normal Heart Rate

The heart rate measured when you are relaxed and lying down is called resting heart rate which varies according to age, gender and physical activity. The normal resting pulse rate for men is around 68-75 bpm. Women may have a slightly higher resting heart rate, around 75-80 bpm. Newborn infants have a very high resting heart rate, around 120-160 bpm. Your RHR range reflects the condition of your heart and lungs. Having high RHR consistently is referred to as tachycardia while having low RHR is called bradycardia.

You must have noticed that the heart beats faster when you perform strenuous exercises. Fitness trainers need to refer to your RHR to determine your fitness level. Depending upon your resting heart rate, your target heart rate during exercise is determined. Well trained athletes show amazingly low average resting heart rate, around 50-55 bpm! Slow beating heart suggests that your heart is so efficient that it doesn't have to beat more number of times or work too hard to pump the blood. On the contrary, high RHR indicates that there is some problem in the circulatory system including the heart and the heart has to work hard, it needs to put extra efforts to achieve its target.

Healthy Resting Heart Rate for Men

Age	RHR for Athletes	Awesome	Excellent	Very Healthy	Healthy	Below Average	Poor
18-25	49-55	56-61	62-65	66-69	70-73	74-81	82+
26-35	49-54	55-61	62-65	66-70	71-74	75-81	82+
36-45	50-56	57-62	63-66	67-70	71-75	76-82	83+
46-55	50-57	58-63	64-67	68-71	72-76	77-83	84+
56-65	51-56	57-61	62-67	68-71	72-75	76-81	82+
65+	50-55	56-61	62-65	66-69	70-73	74-79	80+

Low and High Resting Heart Rates

Low or high pulse rate at rest are symptoms of heart diseases. Excessive weight gain, losing too much of weight in short period of time, blockages in the arteries, heart or lung problems, emotional stress, body position, high altitude, certain medicines and physical activities can affect your resting heart rate. Low pulse rate causes include aging, reduced body temperature, scarcity of thyroid hormones, certain medications and heart diseases. As explained in the table above, RHR between 70-73 is referred to as healthy resting heart rate for men. Thyroid problems, high blood pressure, inflammation of the heart muscles or pericardium, lack of oxygen can cause high pulse rate at rest.

Following healthy diet, performing cardiovascular exercises regularly, following a healthy lifestyle is necessary to maintain the resting heart rate within normal range. Simple lifestyle changes can help improve the efficiency and health of your heart.