You’re familiar with the feeling of your heart pounding in your chest, your blood pulsing through your veins with increasing frequency when you’re scared, stressed, or sweating it out at the gym. Perhaps you even monitor your heart rate in those moments in support of keeping your physical fitness high and your stress low. But how often do you take note of your resting heart rate?
As its name suggests, your resting heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you’re at rest. (Not to be confused with blood pressure, the force with which your blood circulates.) It’s also a vital sign that provides a window into your heart and overall health—especially as you age, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
