The beat goes on
It's one of the simplest tests you can take…And it could very well save your life. It's not an MRI, a glucose-insulin tolerance test, a colonoscopy, or any of the other tests you've probably undergone recently. This is much, much easier. You don't even have to leave your house to have it done. Actually, you don't even have to get up out of your CHAIR (in fact, it's better if you DON'T). I'm talking about taking your pulse. If you haven't done it in awhile, now's the time -- because researchers have found that resting heart rate is one of the strongest indicators of heart attack risk. This study, published in the British Medical Journal, examined the link between resting heart rate and coronary events in 129,135 postmenopausal women with no history of health problems. At the outset of the study, they evaluated the other risk factors the women had that may contribute to elevated heart rate, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and alcohol intake. But even taking these factors into consideration, after tracking the women for nearly eight years, the researchers concluded that women with the highest resting heart rates had a significantly higher risk of having a heart attack than the women with the lowest heart rates. And this finding held up even when the researchers accounted for additional risk factors like physical activity, race, and diabetes. The association between resting heart rate and heart risk was strongest in women between the ages of 50 and 64. To determine your resting heart rate, first you need to find your pulse, either in your radial artery on your wrist or at your carotid artery in your neck (whichever spot works best for you). Once you find your pulse, begin counting each beat for 10 seconds. Then, multiply that number by 6 to find out how many times your heart beats per minute. According to this study, more than 76 beats per minute indicated the highest risk of heart attack, while 62 beats per minute or less indicated the lowest risk. Source:
"Resting heart rate can predict heart attacks in women," ScienceDaily (www.sciencedaily.com), 2/5/09 | 
