Rising Pulse Rates Among Teens is a Cause of Worry

It is a well-known fact that teens of the present day are less fit and it comes as no surprise that some vital parameters such as the resting pulse rates among pre-teens in the U.K have just gone up in the past three decades. Resting pulse rate is also a recognized marker of physical fitness in both adults and children. This is surely a warning about the risks of cardiovascular disease in children.

“Between 1980 and 2010, the mean pulse rates increased by 0.07 beats per minute per year (95% CI 0.04-0.09) among boys and 0.04 beats per minute per year among girls (95% CI 0.01-0.06) (P<0.05 for gender interaction)”, said Leah Li, of the Institute of Child Health, London.

"If an increase of 2 beats per minute in mean resting pulse rate in boys persists to the adult population, this could result in a 4% increase in coronary heart disease mortality among healthy men and a 2% increase in risk of developing diabetes among those over 65 years," he said.

In adults the resting pulse rate has been connected to hypertension, cardiovascular risk and atherosclerosis. In children too, research has shown that resting pulse rate is connected to blood pressure and adiposity.

"Increases in physical activity in children would have a beneficial effect on their physical fitness and cardiovascular health while reducing resting pulse rate," researchers said.

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Source-Medindia