Medical textbooks clearly state that the normal human heart rate is 60-100 beats per minute. Although it is said that we are used to this standard and the concept that has continued for centuries has not yet been essentially questioned. However, the heart rate range of 60-100 beats per minute is very broad, and is it really suitable for all people, especially those with hypertension? 1, the relationship between heart rate and blood pressure Hypertension is a multifactorial disease, the pathogenesis of which involves a high salt diet, water and sodium retention in the body, low activity and high stress, increased sympathetic excitability and so on. When the sympathetic nervous system is out of balance and becomes more active, the heart rate increases and blood pressure tends to rise. In fact, the incidence of hypertension is higher in people with a fast heart rate, and the proportion of people with a fast heart rate is also higher in people with hypertension than in people with normal blood pressure. Therefore, there is a close link between heart rate and blood pressure. 2, heart rate and life expectancy Different animals have different heart rates, and life expectancy varies greatly. The general rule is: the slower the heart rate, the longer the life expectancy. As the list of life expectancy for different species of animals below shows, from mice, monkeys, dogs and cats to lions, elephants and whales, life expectancy increases while heart rate decreases. Although humans are somewhat removed from this straight line, they are not free from this self-heating law. There is a limit to the number of heartbeats in a person’s lifetime. Generally speaking, the heart beats about 2.5 billion to 3 billion times in a lifetime. Controlling the heart rate normally, so that it is neither too fast nor too slow, helps to prolong life. Although it is generally accepted that the normal heart rate is 60-100 beats/min, even within this range, there is a U-shaped curve between human life expectancy and heart rate, in other words, when the heart rate is below 50 beats/min for a long time or above 80 beats/min for a long time will increase the mortality rate. A large sample of domestic surveys also found that people with a fast heart rate have a shorter life expectancy than the average person. In contrast, people with a heart rate of 60 beats/min live longer than those with a heart rate of 70 beats/min, and those with a heart rate of 70 beats/min live longer than those with a heart rate of 80 beats/min. So, strictly speaking, the optimal heart rate should be 50-80 beats/min. Some people may ask: heart rate increases significantly faster when exercising, especially when exercising vigorously. So is exercise bad for life expectancy? As the saying goes, life is in motion, and although the heart rate increases when exercising, it generally slows down when resting after exercise. Athletes generally have a slow heart rate, and long-distance runners even more so. Moreover, the heart rate of the relationship between heart rate and life expectancy mentioned earlier refers to the resting heart rate, or the heart rate in the quiet state, not the heart rate after exercise. 3. Cardiovascular events increase significantly when the heart rate exceeds 80 beats/min Most healthy people have an average heart rate of about 75 beats/min. Once the heart rate exceeds 80 beats/min, the probability of cardiovascular events increases significantly, especially for patients with high blood pressure. The following icons count the relationship between heart rate and myocardial infarction, stroke and death from various other causes in more than 20,000 people. The data show a significant increase in adverse events when the heart rate is less than 50 beats per minute or greater than 80 beats per minute. This large clinical study also supports the claim that 50-80 beats/min is the optimal heart rate. 4, hypertensive patients should pay more attention to their heart rate In fact, about 1/3 of hypertensive patients in China have a heart rate of more than 80 beats/min, and less than one-third of this population has effective heart rate management. When the heart rate increases, some people may experience heartburn and discomfort, while more people may not feel much discomfort. The same is true for elevated blood pressure. Sensitive people may experience headaches, dizziness, or other discomfort due to small fluctuations in blood pressure, while insensitive people may not feel anything even if their blood pressure rises above 180 mmHg or 200 mmHg. For people who are not sensitive to changes in their own physiology, it is emphasized that they should pay more attention to changes in their own heart rate and blood pressure, and rely more on objective indicators, not on feelings or experience to decide whether treatment is needed. 5, effective methods of heart rate management For patients who are first found to have an increased heart rate, the first thing to do is to check whether there are some organic diseases related to the increased heart rate. For example, hyperthyroidism, myocarditis sequelae, chronic anemia and other conditions. If no organic disease can be found to explain the increase in heart rate, the increase in heart rate can only be attributed to increased sympathetic excitability. This is a reasonable explanation and can provide a theoretical basis for heart rate control. The treatment of most chronic diseases cannot be separated from the following two elements: 1. lifestyle improvement. 2. the use of drugs. Among them, diet moderation and proper exercise are the panacea. Adherence to long-term, regular exercise will slow down the heart rate. The main drugs to lower the heart rate are: betablockers. Currently commonly used drugs are: Bisoprolol, Metoprolol, Carvedilol. The proper use of beta blockers can control the heart rate in the ideal range. For hypertensive patients with fast heart rate, it will be very beneficial if the heart rate can be controlled at 50-80 beats/min.