Resting heart rate
A higher resting pulse went with higher death rates in the general population.
How to do it
- Sit quietly for five minutes first. Avoid caffeine, smoking and exercise in the hour before.
- Find your pulse on the thumb side of your wrist, or at the side of your neck, with two fingers.
- Start the 30-second timer and count the beats until it ends.
- Your resting heart rate is that count doubled. A heart rate from a watch or fitness tracker, taken at rest, works too.
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What the research found
Each 10 beats per minute higher went with 9% higher risk of death from any cause. Compared with the lowest rates, 60 to 80 beats per minute went with 12% higher risk, and over 80 with 45% higher.
Studied in: Over 1.2 million people in 46 studies.
- Zhang D, Shen X, Qi X. Resting heart rate and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population: a meta-analysis. CMAJ. 2016;188(3):E53-63. PubMed