According to data published by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization this year, long working hours, that is working 55 or more hours per week, is associated with a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week. Your lifestyle, therefore, has a direct bearing on your heart health and quality of life.
According to Rahul Singhal, Senior Electrophysiologist and Cardiologist in Jaipur, resting heart rate (RHR) is a vital indicator of your present and future health, and if mapped properly and often, can detect abnormalities early on. The process to check your resting heart rate, the doctor explains, is very simple. Put two fingers on your pulse for 60 seconds and count the heartbeats.
The pulse rate can be read any day of the week, but at that time of the reading, you should not be in stress or anxiety because in this situation the heart rate becomes high. Make sure you wait for at least five to ten after strenuous activity. It is best to check it first thing in the morning.
"Normally the heart rate is between 60 and 100. But if the heart rate is above 80 in a pulse reading of 60 seconds, then your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease increases twice. If it is above 90, the risk of all these hazards increases by three times. Experts consider a beat between 70 and 80 as the ideal resting heart rate."
High resting heart rate means low physical fitness, says Singhal.
A heart rate between 60 and 100 is normal, but a heart rate above 80 is considered a high resting heart rate. It indicates your low physical fitness, overweight or fat or blood pressure. The higher the patient's resting heart rate, the greater the risk of heart disease or premature death. This is because the higher the heart rate, the more pumping the heart has to do.
"While it is good to get your heart rate up during exercising, it is not the same thing as a high resting heart rate. When at rest, the pulse reading should not be too high, or it is an indication that your heart muscles are under duress."
Currently, in the COVID-19 era, most of the companies have allowed Work From Home for its employees. But, as compared to the office, people are working for longer hours at home. In the same regard, Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, MD (General Medicine), Consultant Physician at VINN Hospital, Hyderabad, says, “if you work for longer hours at a stretch, ensure that you take breaks after at least every 2 hours, for 10-15mins for relaxation. This would help the brain to work more attentively, more efficiently and with concentration. Most people do not follow this, which compromises the brain function in the form of exhaustion as well as causes mental stress.”
He further explains that a higher rest heart rate could lead to high blood pressure and there is a higher incidence of ischemic heart disease. Due to higher work pressure and lesser amount of rest, more stress hormones are released in the body. Stress hormones indirectly influence hypertension, regulates diabetes control, causes sleep deprivation and increases the inflammatory response in the body. People with higher stress, will have high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), leading to ischemic heart disease, eventually resulting in heart attack, which is rather worrisome.
Due to the high pressure, the muscles of the heart get stressed, which can cause all these problems to the patient. One can stabilize a high resting heart rate by improving lifestyle, meditation, and yoga. Moreover, stress is a silent killer that can take your heart rate shooting through the roof. There have also been studies in which patients have normalized their high resting heart rate in just one week with lifestyle modification.
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