What is HRR, and how to improve it
My heart recovers faster than 75% of elite athletes and 99% of the general population.
This biomarker, known as Heart Rate Recovery (HRR), is a key indicator of cardiovascular fitness.
Here is what you can do to measure, compare, and improve yours.
What is Heart Rate Recovery?
- HRR is a marker that indicates how quickly your heart rate drops back to resting heart rate after exercise, indicating cardiovascular fitness and health.
- My HRR is 37 bpm which is higher than 75% of elite athletes and 99% of the general population.
How to Measure your (HRR)
1. Exercise vigorously
2. Record peak heart rate
3. Rest 1 minute
4. Record heart rate again
5. Subtract second reading from peak
The result is your 1-minute HRR in bpm.
Compare Yourself to Elite Athletes and the General Population with These Graphs:
a. Two cohorts of young and adult elite athlete males.
b. A general population cohort of regular active adult males
Sadly, reliable numbers are lacking for fit females per age group.
The unavailability of such HRR numbers per age group for healthy and fit women is a sign that disparities in representation in clinical literature–if declining–still exist.
We will soon take action with the Blueprint community (Don't Die App) to address such disparities for novel fitness markers, by collecting and sharing anonymized and balanced data for females and males of all age groups.
Here’s how you can improve your HRR:
1. Exercise
Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week.
2. Diet
- Focus on foods for cardiac health, including healthy fats: omega3 from nuts, fish and supplements, in addition to extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
- Polyphenols from EVOO, berries and dark chocolate support recovery due to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Diet of vegetables, fruits and lean proteins.
3. Sleep
- Get enough (7-8 hours) of high-quality night sleep to allow for full recovery in support of your exercise goals.
- Keep a regular sleep schedule.
- Have an effective wind-down routine for maximal recovery. Follow my full sleep routine here.
4. Additional considerations:
+ Hydration
+ Exogenous ketones can help boost your performance
+ Limit processed foods
+ Limit caffeine
What does poor HRR indicate?
Increased all-cause mortality and heart attack risk.
Low HRR can be associated to one or more of the following:
❌Coronary Artery Disease
❌Heart Failure
❌Hypertension
❌Metabolic Syndrome
❌Diabetes
❌Sleep Apnea
In a landmark NEJM study with over 2000 mid-aged participants with an initial heart condition, poor HRR following activity was a strong predictor of all-cause mortality, with a 400% increase in mortality risk within the 6 year follow-up period.
Science Summary:
Heart Rate Recovery is an indicator of the autonomous functioning of the heart, and it results in the withdrawal of the so-called sympathetic activity and the reactivation of the parasympathetic nervous activity.
The latter is responsible for the ability to relax.
Evidence using specific blockers indicates that the reactivation of parasympathetic activity is the main driver of immediate Heart Rate Recovery, while the withdrawal of sympathetic activity comes later in play to affect the longer term HRR.
Focus on the power laws of sleep, nutrition and exercise and you’ll be off to a great start.
Be well,
Bryan
Sources
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/heart-rate-recovery
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5524096/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26147945/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199910283411804
