Watch Your Heart Rate Increases and Decreases During and After Exercise

People exercising at the gym can track their heart rates on the cardio machines they use, but a real indicator of a healthy heart is how quickly the heart rate increases and decreases during and after exercise.

The average heart rate is somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute, said Erik Altman, MD, chief of electrophysiology at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. A fast heart beat is generally considered to be more than 100 beats per minute, he added.

When people exercise, they should aim for their heart rate to be faster than their baseline to achieve the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. The benefits include helping to ward of Type II diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure as well as keeping your arteries from developing plaque buildup.

“Exercises that only stretch your muscles are not as healthy for you as cardio,” Dr. Altman said.

People should pay attention to how their heart responds to exercise, Dr. Altman said. If it does not go back down to a normal rate relatively quickly, it could be a sign of an arrhythmia and if it does not increase as it should, that might be a sign that a device such as a pacemaker is needed to regulate the heart’s electrical system. An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart beat, which can affect the blood supply to the rest of the body.

“The more you exercise, your better your heart rate response to exercise will be,” Dr. Altman said.

For more information about irregular heart beats, click here.