Final Exam Study Guide Set #1: Heart Rate
Score ________ /10
Name _________________________
Hour _________
What should you know about your heart rate?
Even if you’re not an athlete, knowledge about your heart rate can help you monitor your
______________ — and it might even help you spot developing ______________________.
Your heart rate, or pulse, is the _____________________________________________. Normal
heart rate varies from person to person. Knowing yours can be an important heart-health gauge.
“As you age, changes in the rate and regularity of your pulse can change and may signify a heart
condition or other condition that needs to be addressed,” said Richard Stein, M.D., professor of
medicine and cardiology at the New York University School of Medicine in New York City and a
volunteer for the American Heart Association.
Where is it and what is a normal heart rate?
The best places to find your pulse are the:
1. __________________
2. __________________
3. __________________
4. __________________
To get the most accurate reading, put your finger over your pulse and count the number of beats in
60 seconds, Stein said.
Your resting heart rate is the
_________________________________________________________________________________.
If you’re sitting or lying and you’re calm, relaxed and aren’t ill, your heart rate is normally between 60
(beats per minute) and 100 (beats per minute), Stein said.
But a heart rate lower than 60 doesn’t usually signal a medical problem. It could be the result of
taking a drug such as a beta blocker. A lower heart rate is also common for people who get a lot of
_____________________ or are very ___________, Stein said. Active people often have lower heart
rates because their heart muscle is in better condition and doesn’t need to work as hard to maintain a
steady beat.
“Moderate physical activity doesn’t usually change the resting pulse much,” Stein said. “If you’re very
fit, it could change to _____. A less active person might have a heart rate between ____ and _____,”
he added. That’s because the heart muscle has to work harder to maintain bodily functions, making it
higher.
How Other Factors Affect Heart Rate
1. __________________________:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
When To Call Your Doctor
Your doctor may ask you to monitor and log your heart rate if you’re on a beta blocker to decrease
your heart rate (and lower blood pressure) or to control a another common abnormal rhythm
(arrhythmia). Keeping tabs on your heart rate can help your doctor determine whether to change the
dosage or switch to a different medication.
“If your pulse is very low or if you have frequent episodes of unexplained fast heart rates, especially if
they cause you to feel weak or dizzy or faint, tell your doctor, who can decide if it’s an emergency,”
Stein said. “Your ____________ is one tool to help get a picture of your health.”
Blood Pressure VS Heart Rate
Blood Pressure
What is it?
What is the unit of
measurement?
What do the numbers
represent?
Sample reading
Heart Rate
Here are some more things to know about the correlation between blood pressure and heart rate.
 ___________________________________________________.
Measuring pulse rate does not indicate high or low blood pressure. For people with high
blood pressure, there's no substitute for measuring blood pressure.
 _________________________________________________________________.
Even though your heart is beating more times a minute, healthy blood vessels dilate (get
larger) to allow more blood to flow through more easily. When you exercise, your heart
speeds up so the blood can reach your muscles. It may be possible for your heart rate to
double safely, while your blood pressure may respond by only increasing a modest amount.
 ___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
If you take your pulse (measuring your heart rate) before, during and after physical activity,
you'll notice your pulse will increase over the course of the exercise. The greater the
intensity and the more energy the activity demands, the more your pulse will increase. When
you stop exercising, your pulse does not immediately return to normal; it gradually returns
to its resting level. The greater your fitness level, the sooner your pulse rate will return to
normal. These numbers may be helpful to understand but they are not linked to your blood
pressure. Learn about your target heart rate during physical activity and how to monitor it.
GETTING IN THE TARGET HEART RATE ZONE
What's all this fuss about target heart rate, you ask?
Well, we know to improve our cardiovascular endurance we must perform ___________________,
right? But there is a little more to it than that. We need to get our heart rate up into the desired target
heart rate zone for a ______________________________ in order to utilize the overload principle
and to lead to substantial fitness improvements over time.
ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) says we need moderate-intensity exercise (4060% of HRR) for at least ___ minutes on ___ or more days a week, for a total of _____ minutes
per week, or vigorous-intensity exercise (60-85% of HRR) for at least _____ minutes on ___ or
more days a week for a total of ____ minutes per week. For weight loss, _____ minutes per day to a
total of ______ minutes moderate exercise is recommended.
WHAT IS YOUR OPTIMUM EXERCISE INTENSITY?
Studies show that optimum exercise intensity for fitness improvement is in the range of about
____% to ____% of (HRR) heart rate reserve. Of course, the fitter you are, the higher the
appropriate exercise intensity. Very deconditioned individuals may begin to improve at about
________% of HRR.
Calculating YOUR Target Heart Rate Range
Purpose: To identify a PERSONAL target heart rate zone; which is a safe and
comfortable level at which
to perform physical activities.
Procedure: Study the example provided before completing this activity
EXAMPLE
For You
LOWER LIMIT
Start with 220
Subtract your age
Equals MAXIMUM heart rate
(MHR)
220
-20
-
220
_____
UPPER LIMIT
-
220
_____
200
Maximum times heart should beat/min
Subtract YOUR resting heart rate
Multiply by:
60% - Lower Limit
80% - Upper Limit
Add resting heart rate
Equals Target Heart Rate (THR)
-70
130
x .60
78
+ 70
148
130
x.80
104
+ 70
174
Beats per minute
______
X .60
______
+ ______
Beats per minute
______
X .80
______
+ ______
Beats per minute
Your Target Heart Rate Zone
1. What does it mean if your heart rate is not within your target heart rate range when
you are done exercising or participating in a physical activity?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. What should you do if you take your pulse (heart rate) during activity and it is above
your target heart rate range? WHY?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3. What should you do if you take your pulse (heart rate) during activity and it is below
your target heart rate range? WHY?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________