Heart Rate Monitors For Cardiovascular Fitness
People in western countries are aware of massive cardiovascular problems that exist. Heart disease is considered a leading killer in the United States of America. Surely, such a trend should be reversed with exercise, diet and an overall healthy lifestyle. People should have a basic understanding of their own heart health. A visit to the primary care physician’s office may reveal the fitness level and condition of a patient’s heart. Sometimes, stress tests may be conducted in order to accurately monitor the performance of the heart and cardiovascular system.
People can also monitor their own cardiovascular fitness by using heart rate monitors. The heart rate is measured in beats per minute, commonly referred to as BPM. When at rest, a healthy heart rate is between 60 and 80 beats per minute. Naturally, people of large physical stature have a faster resting heart rate.
It only makes sense that the heart has to work extra hard to support people that are big and tall. However, individuals that are overweight have an abnormal resting heart rate that may exceed 90 beats per minute. The heart muscle has to work extra hard just to sustain basic metabolic activities and other bodily processes while an overweight person is at rest.
The heart rate quickly increases when a person engages in exercise. The BPM readings can go up to 200 when an individual does vigorous physical activity. However, simple activities such as walking can also raise the heart rate significantly.
Heart rate monitors are available in wrist watch designs. Users can simply strap the watches to their wrist and enjoy accurate readings that may also include calories, total distance covered and more. Advanced heart rate monitors also have memory storage that can hold data from weeks or even months ago. With Bluetooth technology, some of the heart rate readings can be wirelessly synced with a compatible smartphone. Additionally, some heart rate monitors may be connected to a personal desktop computer or laptop computer via USB. The connections make it possible to create detailed reports and graphs on the progress of cardiovascular fitness. Such data could be shared with a primary care physician and other medical or fitness experts.
Websites that sell sports and fitness gadgets may have a click here section that lists heart rate monitors for sale. There are handheld monitors available as well as those that could be attached to a key lanyard.