The Healthspan Map · Ch3 Baseline: Vitals
Resting heart rate
Compiled by Aamir Malik, PhD, Professor of Neuroengineering at Brno University of Technology, from published studies. He is a researcher, not a physician. Last updated 21 August 2026.
What this is linked to
| Condition or system | Direction | Strength | Evidence type | What was found | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | Watch this | Emerging | RCT / meta-analysis | Elevated resting heart rate reflects higher sympathetic tone and lower fitness, and tracks with increased hypertension risk. | Cardiorespiratory fitness & HTN (opens in a new tab) |
| Cardiovascular | Watch this | Strong | RCT / meta-analysis | Each 10 bpm higher resting heart rate raised cardiovascular disease risk 15%, coronary heart disease 7%, heart failure 18% and stroke 6%. | Aune et al., Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2017 (87 studies) (opens in a new tab) |
| Cardiovascular | Watch this | Strong | RCT / meta-analysis | Every 10 bpm increment in resting heart rate was associated with 8% higher cardiovascular mortality. | Zhang et al., CMAJ 2016 (46 studies, 1.25 million adults) (opens in a new tab) |
| General / Whole-body Energy | Watch this | Emerging | RCT / meta-analysis | Each 10 bpm higher resting heart rate was associated with ~9-17% higher all-cause mortality. | Aune et al., 2017 / Zhang et al., CMAJ 2016 (opens in a new tab) |
| General / Whole-body Energy | Watch this | Emerging | RCT / meta-analysis | Each 10 bpm higher resting heart rate was associated with ~9-17% higher all-cause mortality. | Aune et al., "Resting heart rate and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all-cause mortality", Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2017 (opens in a new tab) |
The Healthspan Map is part of Fix the Floor, a book by Aamir Malik. About the book