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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National

What is a normal heart rate?

Relaxation lowers the heart rate, and our heart rate is naturally slower while we sleep. Picture Shutterstock

Many of us have smart watches that tell us our heart rate, but what is a normal heart rate? What causes the rhythm of our heart, and how does this change with different activities?

Our heart rate is the speed of the contractions of the heart's muscle. These muscle contractions (of the ventricles of the heart) are what pumps blood around our body.

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