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Gregory W. Kirschen, Daniel Singer, Henry C. Thode | The American Journal of Emergency Medicine | (2019)
Primary Link Pubmed DOI Openalex

Abstract

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Sample Definition And Size

The study analyzed 8,715 local emergency department (ED) visits and approximately 123.3 million estimated national adult ED visits, including both adults and children. The local data was collected from a large academic center with an annual ED census of 110,000, while the national data was obtained from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), a CDC-sponsored weighted sample of U.S. EDs. Demographic and clinical data, including vital signs, were extracted for analysis.

Study Type

Retrospective secondary analysis of electronic medical records from a large academic center and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).

Conflicts Of Interest

The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.

Results Summary

Among adult ED patients nationally, for every 1 °C increase in body temperature, the heart rate increases by approximately 7 bpm (95% CI: 6.2 to 8.3). After adjusting for age and gender, a 1 °C increase in body temperature corresponded to a mean increase in heart rate of 10.4 bpm (95% CI: 9.5 to 11.4) locally and 6.9 bpm (95% CI: 5.9 to 7.8) nationally. Additionally, males had significantly lower heart rates than females (coefficient: -1.6, 95% CI: -2.4 to -0.8), and age was negatively associated with heart rate (coefficient: -0.08, 95% CI: -0.10 to -0.06).

Referenced In

William Fan
9 months ago
William Fan's 2025 91 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Week 8: Resting and resting heart rate

  • Weight (7d avg): 186.9lbs/84.8kg, from peak -12.8lbs/-5.8kg

  • RHR (7d avg): 59.4bpm

  • Calories In (7d avg): 1686kcal

  • Exercise (7d avg): 500kcal

  • Net Deficit (total): -2300kcal

  • 2x5x500m row: 1:51.0, 1:49.6

Notes:

I saw a continued steady decline in my weight 2 weeks after my sleep apnea surgery. Recovery was slow but continual. Though I had hoped to be mostly recovered 2 weeks in, I was just starting to be able to eat normally again throughout the week. My decreased diet meant exercising was difficult. But as soon as I was able to increase my calories I was able get back to my gym routine.

One additional goal I had for this weight loss challenge was getting my resting heart rate down closer to where I was a few years prior, in the low 50s. As I entered my mid thirties, my RHR seemed to go up 1 bpm every year. It's difficult to say what caused this but I was very interested in seeing what I could do to get it back down.

Anecdotally, the more weight I lost and more exercise I got, the better my RHR. However, getting sick or recovering from surgery caused my RHR to rise within a few days. There's 3 categories I'm interested in when considering RHR impacts: weight loss, exercise, and illness.

Weight Loss

A meta-analysis from 2019 found an associated -9bpm with large median weight loss of 43kg. This ranged from 20% to 30% weight loss. In a 1 year controlled trial , RHR decreased by 4bpm with a 5-10% decrease in weight. There are several other confounding factors including diet and exercise that could also impact RHR, but generally weight loss seems to have a consistent effect.

Exercise

Easily the most well studied factor for improving RHR, a large systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2018 showed -5.2bpm from all types of sports, -6.0bpm from endurance training, and -2.5bpm from strength training. Notably, studies showed -7.2bpm from yoga specifically. These adaptations took several weeks to see drops, but I see impacts from my Fitbit within a few days of high aerobic activity.

Illness

I always see a spike in my RHR when I get sick and it can be quite discouraging. I try to keep my spirits up by reminding myself its temporary. A national US study looking at the relationship between body temperature and heart rate found a HR increase of 7bpm for every increase in T of 1.0°C or 1 .8°F. Diseases like COVID-19 saw increases of 1.8% for females and 3.4% for males on initial onset.

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