About resting BPM
Your resting heart rate is your heart rate when you are awake, but not moving. Low resting heart rates are highly correlated with longevity.
Normal is 60-100bpm. Lower is normally better.
While a normal resting heart rate is conventionally considered 60-100bpm, in our data, most people fall between 53-79bpm. A resting heart rate above 80bpm is uncommon.
Lower resting heart rates indicate better heart health. Research suggests that for every 10 bpm decrease in RHR, there may be a 10-20% lower risk of all-cause mortality.
Healthy resting heart rates by age and gender
On average, men have a slightly lower resting heart rate (64bpm) than women (68bpm). However, the variation within each sex is large (20bpm from the 10th to 90th percentile). Infants can have resting heart rates of 80-160bpm, and school-aged children can have resting heart rates of 75-118bpm. After adulthood, resting heart rate only varies slightly with age.
What to do if Apple Watch isn’t showing resting heart rate.
Your resting heart rate won’t be available immediately after you wake up. Apple Watch calculates your resting heart rate based on measurements while you’re awake but sedentary.
How Apple Watch calculates resting heart rate
During the day, Apple Watch collects all of your sedentary heart rate samples using its PPG sensor. It then estimates your resting heart rate as the lowest value. Because Apple Watch’s resting heart rate estimates become more accurate as the day progresses, you may see your resting heart rate for today or yesterday change.
Causes of low or high resting heart rate
Very low or high resting heart rates can sometimes be a sign of electrical problems in the heart (bradyarrhythmias) or problems in your autonomic nervous system. Resting heart rates below 60bpm can also simply be a sign of good heart health if you’re an athlete. Doctors use ECGs and other tests to distinguish between these cases.
Bradyarrhythmias cause low resting heart rates
A doctor can tell the difference between a healthy low resting heart rate and a bradyarrhythmia using an ECG (electrocardiogram). If you have an Apple Watch Series 4 or above, you can take an ECG on your watch and ask for a doctor to interpret it within the Empirical Health app. Some common abnormal heart rhythms that cause low resting heart rates are Atrioventricular (AV) block and sinus node dysfunction.
Tachyarrhythmias cause high resting heart rates
Some abnormal heart rhythms cause a fast heart rate, such as SVT (supraventricular tachycardia), atrial fibrillation, and atrialflutter. Similar to bradyarrhythmias, tachyarrhythmias are diagnosed by a doctor with the help of an ECG.
POTS, dysautonomia, long covid & high resting heart rate
High resting heart rate is sometimes a sign of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) or other dysautonomias. This can happen after a viral infection, such as COVID-19. Doctors typically diagnose POTS using orthostatic vitals (heart rate and blood pressure), an ECG, and a blood test. Book an appointment with an Empirical Health doctor to discuss POTS testing and treatment.
How reseting heart rate, cardio recovery, HRV, and VO2 Max are related
Cardio recovery, HRV, resting heart rate, and VO2 max are highly correlated on Apple Watch. That’s because they all track just two physiological processes. HRV mostly tracks your autonomic nervous system (ANS). VO2Max mostly tracks the volume of blood your heart muscle can pump. Cardio recovery and RHR measure a combination of the two.
