Contents:
- Medical Video: 10 Warning Signs Your Heart Isn't Working Properly
- What controls the heart rate?
- How to measure heart rate?
- Fast heart rate indicates a heart attack
- The heart beats fast only when it is stressed
- You don't need to check blood pressure when your heart rate is normal
- Slow heart beat = your heart is weak
Medical Video: 10 Warning Signs Your Heart Isn't Working Properly
Even though you are not an athlete, you need to know about the heartbeat to help you detect heart problems early. Heart rate is one of the important indicators of heart health. Unfortunately, only a few people know exactly about heart rate.
Heart rate is how many times your heart beats per minute. A person's heart rate is influenced by individual factors, such as age, body size, heart condition, weather, physical activity or exercise, emotions, and certain drugs that can affect the heart rate.
What controls the heart rate?
The sino-atrial nodes are small cells in the heart located in the right atrium. Sino-atrial nodes are natural pacemakers that play a role in increasing or decreasing heart rate based on information from nerves that respond to body temperature, joint movements, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
How to measure heart rate?
The trick is to place both of your fingers on the index finger and middle finger - at some point where the pulse can be felt like the wrist, on the side under your thumb. Feel and count your heart rate in 30 seconds, then the number is multiplied by two to determine the frequency of your pulse per minute.
Here are some myths about heartbeat that you need to know:
Fast heart rate indicates a heart attack
Myth. If you feel your heart beating fast, you may experience palpitations. Fast palpitation or heartbeat is a condition where you feel your heart beat faster. However, if your heart is pounding constantly, immediately consult a doctor to get the right diagnosis and treatment.
The heart beats fast only when it is stressed
Myth. Although when you experience stress, for example when you are scared just before the presentation or after you hit something while driving, the body will release chemical compounds that trigger the heart to beat faster; however, stress is not the only factor that makes your heart beat fast. Other factors that can trigger this condition are high physical activity, emotions (feeling very happy or anxious or sad), or certain medical conditions.
You don't need to check blood pressure when your heart rate is normal
Myth. Both are not always related. When your heart beats normally, it's not necessarily your blood pressure is normal - it can be low or high. Therefore, even if your heart beats normally, you still need to check your blood pressure regularly.
Slow heart beat = your heart is weak
Myth. A slow heartbeat can indicate that you are in good health. Trained athletes who have a healthy heart muscle actually have no need to beat quickly to meet the body's oxygen needs. As long as you don't feel dizzy, have difficulty breathing, or chest pain; slow heart rate does not indicate your heart is weak.
