1. Erratic heartbeats always mean heart attacks.
False. Erratic heartbeats almost never mean a heart attack. They very common, almost everyone’s heart skips a beat now and again; heart flutters, or flip-flop are also common place. An abnormal heart rhythm without chest pain or shortness of breath is not a severe condition. However, it should be checked, as sometimes they lead to stroke or heart failure. I would check anything that goes wrong around the heart anyway, remember most people only have one chance to a heart attack or failure.
2. A Healthy heart rate, at rest, should be between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
True. Heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute is normal. However, higher than 80 may indicate a high risk of other serious health concerns such as obesity and heart disease.
3. A racing pulse results only from stress.
False. Stress can elevate heart rate up to 100 beats per minute (tachycardia), but so does smoking, high caffeine consumption, fever, dehydration, thyroid disease or anemia. Whatever the case, an unexplained resting heart rate above 80 beats per minute should be paid professional medical attention.
4. A slow heart rate indicates a weak heart.
False. Contrary to popular belief, a slow heart rate indicates a healthy heart. Slow heart rates means that the heart is not working too hard to pump blood. Translation: the heart is strong enough not to work as hard to do its job. Take this illustration: a two-year old kid will work so hard to lift a gallon of milk, while an adult will not work as hard but gets the job done.
Stronger hearts, like those of athletes, have slower rates than weaker ones. It goes without saying that exercise strengthens the heart, and enables it not to work as hard. Resting rates between 40 and 60 indicates strong hearts (like those of athletes). Lance Armstrong, for example, records a resting rate of 32.
However, slow heart rates in the elderly does not indicate strength, but may be symptom of heart disease.
5. A normal heart rate means normal blood pressure.
False. Blood pressure is not dependent on resting heart rate, a person can have a normal resting heart rate and still have high BP; and vice versa. Heart rate and blood pressure are not the same. However, a healthy heart is better able to pump blood to the entire body, and cope than a weak one.