Normal heart rate for women : Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Normal Heart Rate for Women

In adult women, the typical heart rate ranges from 78 to 82 beats per minute, with 60 to 100 beats per minute considered the norm.The heart rate can be impacted by a variety of factors, including hormones, exercise, and lifestyle decisions.

Heart Rate

Your heart rate is the total number of heartbeats per minute. Your heart’s resting heart rate is the precise volume of blood your body requires to function while it is at rest. The resting heart rate can vary from person to person and can be influenced by age, amount of exercise, and certain medications. 

Normal Heart Rate for Women

People who are assigned as female at birth typically have a slightly higher heart rate than men or people who are identified as male at birth. The typical adult male heart rate is from 70 to 72 beats per minute.

While the normal range is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, the average heart rate for adult women is 78 to 82 beats per minute. The heart rate is influenced by various factors, including hormones, physical activity, and lifestyle decisions.

Why do men and women have different heart rates?

Men’s hearts often grow 15%–30% bigger than women’s hearts during adolescence. This increase in heart size typically corresponds with an increase in body size.

The contractions in your heart circulate blood throughout your body and heart with each beat. Women’s hearts are typically slightly smaller than men’s, therefore in order to pump the same volume of blood, their hearts must beat quicker.

Unsafe Heart Rate for Women

If your heart rate is constantly higher than 100 beats per minute when you’re not working out, you might have a serious medical condition. If you also have symptoms like lightheadedness or dizziness, you should consult your doctor immediately if your heartbeat is this rapid.

Additionally, if you experience symptoms like lightheadedness, dizziness, or extreme weariness, a heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute may be concerning. However, a lower heart rate in the 40s to 50s is typical for athletes and more active individuals.

Heart Rate Disorders Affecting Women

Among those assigned female at birth, the following conditions and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) are more common:

• Atrial tachycardia: An abnormally rapid heartbeat that affects the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) is known as atrial tachycardia.
• Atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia (AVNRT): Abrupt, rapid heartbeat events that recur.
• Long Q-T syndrome, also known as LQTS: This condition causes your heart to beat more slowly than usual in order to recharge the ventricles, the lower chambers of your heart.
• Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) : When standing up from a reclining position, POTS syndrome can produce lightheadedness and an accelerated heartbeat.
• Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) arrest: A form of cardiac arrest in which there is a normal electrical signal but no pulse due to non-functioning heart.
• Right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) ventricular arrhythmias (VAs): A cardiac rhythm abnormality in which the ventricles quiver rather than contract.
• Sick sinus syndrome: An irregular heart rhythm brought on by malfunctions in the sinoatrial (SA) node, which generates the electrical signal that initiates each pulse.

Heart disorders affecting women’s heart rates less frequently

Individuals who are classified as female at birth are less prone to have certain heart rate-affecting disorders and arrhythmias, such as:

• Atrial fibrillation (Afib): A heart rhythm abnormality originating from the atria.
• Fascicular ventricular tachycardia (FVT): An irregularly rapid heartbeat affecting the fascicles, which are fibre bundles that transmit electrical signals from your heart.
• Sudden cardiac death: When your heart stops working suddenly, it’s a medical emergency.
• Ventricular fibrillation: Your ventricles are impacted by an abnormal heart rhythm.
• Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome: This condition, which arises when you have an additional, abnormal channel along your heart’s conduction system, is less common in those who are assigned female at birth. Your heart may start beating erratically as a result of this.

Factors Affecting Heart Rate For Women

Following are a few of the factors affecting the normal heart rate for women:

• Hormones: Women generally have better cardiac function than men for the same age range prior to menopause. There is less of a difference after menopause. When it comes to conditions like aortic stenosis, or narrowing of the aortic valve, women typically do better than men do at the same age before going through perimenopause and menopause. This may indicate a link between heart health and oestrogen, according to researchers.
• Pregnancy: The average heart rate of pregnant women is higher than that of non-pregnant women. The heart has to work harder during pregnancy to pump blood to the uterus. Pregnancy causes an increase in heart rate, which typically reaches 90 beats per minute. Additionally, when you exercise, your heart rate rises more than usual when you’re pregnant.
• Menstruation: Over the course of your menstrual cycle, your hormones change. During ovulation and the week that follows (the luteal phase), your heart rate typically rises a little. It slightly drops the week before and throughout your menstrual cycle (follicular phase).

Conclusion

One of the essential indicators of a woman’s health is her heart rate. Making an exercise regimen decision is also aided by knowing this measurement. Your heart rate can show signs of a medical problem if it is abnormal.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. For women, what heart rate is dangerous?

A serious medical issue may be indicated by a heart rate that is consistently higher than 100 beats per minute when you are not exercising. You should visit your doctor immediately, particularly if you are experiencing other symptoms like lightheadedness or dizziness.

Less than 60 beats per minute may also be concerning for your heart, particularly if you are experiencing symptoms like lightheadedness, dizziness, or extreme exhaustion. 

2. How is a change in heart rate diagnosed?

To determine whether you have a cardiac rhythm problem, you could have an appointment with a cardiologist.To identify a heart rhythm problem, your healthcare professional may employ a number of tests or instruments.

3. Is it ok for a woman to have a slightly higher heart rate?

It is true that women typically have greater average heart rates than do men.It is absolutely normal to have a slightly higher heart rate.Also both menopause and pregnancy cause modifications to cardiac function as well.