Athletes and heartbeats: Is slow really the way to go?
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Runners in particular covet low resting heart rates...but should they? (Joseph Kaczmarek/AP Photo)
Slower resting heart rates have been coveted by athletes for years, but new research questions the value of a slower ticker.
When it comes to athletes and bragging rights, slow isn’t usually a point of pride. But that’s not the case with heartrates. A low resting heart rate, or sinus bradycardia, is a sign of endurance in the fitness world, and it’s only recently that researchers have figured out exactly what it is. And the answer is kind of “funny.”
Dr. Bethany Brookshire, who blogs for Science News under the name SciCurious, wrote about this new research. She joins host Maiken Scott to discuss the heart’s natural pacemaker.
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