7 Reasons Your Heart Rate Rises With Light Activity

If you find yourself winded with little effort and your heart rate increasing when doing normal activities, it could be your body's way of sounding the alarm for your health. A heart rate that rises easily with minimal effort is a good indication that some lifestyle changes are in order.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a normal resting heart rate ranges between 60 and 100 beats per minute. This is when you are at complete rest and not doing any kind of activity. As you're more active throughout the day, it's normal for your heart rate to increase depending on the intensity of the activity you're doing.

Here, a cardiologist explains the reasons for an increased heart rate with very little activity, ways to lower it and when to see a doctor.

Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a condition where a lack of healthy red blood cells leads to reduced oxygen flow to the organs. Increased heart rate and fatigue are two symptoms of the condition. The heart rate rises easily in an attempt to meet the body's oxygen requirement by pumping more blood per minute.

"When there's a low level of oxygen in the blood, the heart works extra hard to compensate," explains Nikolaos Diakos, MD, PhD, an interventional cardiologist at The Texas Heart Institute. "This puts a lot of pressure on the heart, which can cause it to beat faster."

Untreated anemia can make underlying cardiovascular issues worse, Dr. Diakos notes, so it's important to get a diagnosis and manage the condition.

Stress can have a serious effect on your heart rate and overall heart health. "A high heart rate can represent a physiologic response of our body to an external stimulus such as fear, anxiety or stress," Dr. Diakos says.

Even if you are doing light activity, like walking around the house, high stress levels can have your heart racing. According to the American Heart Association, the body releases adrenaline when in stressful situations. The hormone temporarily causes your heart rate to speed up and your blood pressure to rise. This response to stress is meant to prepare you to deal with the situation — also known as the "fight or flight" response.

Managing stress is good for your overall health and can lower your risk of heart disease.

If you're not getting enough sleep (that's seven to nine hours a night for adults, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), you won't just be extra tired during the day — your heart health will suffer, too.

Indeed, people dealing with sleep deprivation are more likely to experience an irregular heart beat and heart palpitations. In a June 2018 ‌HeartRhythm‌ review, four studies found a link between atrial fibrillation (AFib) and poor sleep.

In one of those studies, people with pre-diagnosed AFib had more frequent abrupt awakenings compared to those who did not have the heart condition. In the three other studies, poor sleep quality, including frequent nighttime awakenings and less REM sleep, predicted which individuals would develop an abnormal heartbeat.

Cigarette smoking has a long list of serious consequences, including breathing problems, risk of lung cancer and heart disease. Smoking can also cause major damage to your heart health, according to the Texas Heart Institute. It increases your heart rate and can cause an irregular heart rhythm, which makes your heart work harder. Smoking cigarettes will likely also raise your blood pressure, increasing your risk of stroke.

Secondhand smoke can have devastating affects too, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Breathing in secondhand smoke can compromise the heart's normal function and increase your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Excessive caffeine consumption could be the culprit behind a sudden increase in your resting heart rate, Dr. Diakos says. Caffeine is a natural stimulant that can have certain health benefits like enhanced focus and lower inflammation levels, but caffeine intake should be monitored.

The average adult can safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which is equal to about four cups of home-brewed coffee. If you go beyond that or simply take in more caffeine than you're used to, you might notice an uptick in your heart rate.

Keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, too, which can also cause heart palpitations or an irregular heart rate.

If you're feeling thirsty, chances are you're already dehydrated. Water is a crucial part of our survival, and dehydration can cause an elevated heart rate when your body is deprived of fluid, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Dehydration can negatively affect your organs and overall bodily functions. When you are dehydrated, the amount of blood circulating through your body decreases, per the Heart Foundation. In order to make up for it, your heart beats faster, increasing your heart rate and your blood pressure.

Having obesity can put you at risk for heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic illnesses, per the Cleveland Clinic. There's also a higher risk of developing an arrhythmia.

Obesity increases blood pressure, causing the heart to pump harder in order to deliver blood to your arteries. The heart works harder during everyday activities or slight movement, too, for the same reason.

Your resting heart rate is a good indication of your heart health, but it will also depend on several factors, including your age, hormones, stress levels, activity levels and if you take any medications, Dr. Diakos says.

"Resting heart rate can be a marker of cardiovascular fitness. People with good cardiovascular fitness such as athletes tend to have a lower resting heart rate," he says.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the average adult resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, while a trained athlete may have a resting heart rate as low as 40 beats per minute.

Your heart rate will change as you exert yourself throughout the day. For example, your heart rate while running will be faster than your walking heart rate.

You can measure your own heart rate in a couple of ways — manually or with technology like a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor. If you're measuring it on your own, the Mayo Clinic offers these instructions to check your pulse:

1. ‌On your neck:‌ Place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe.
2. ‌On your wrist:‌ Place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery, which is located on the thumb side of your wrist.

Once you feel your pulse, count the number of beats for 15 seconds. Multiply that number by four to calculate your beats per minute.

Fitness trackers are another way to calculate your heart rate. Typically worn around your wrist, they can monitor your heart rate during all hours of the day and determine when your heart rate rises.

For long-term solutions, lowering your heart rate can be achieved over time by improving your fitness.

The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (such as walking briskly or biking) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (like running or hiking) each week. Any activity counts as long as it elevates your heart rate above resting levels.

The CDC also recommends resistance training twice weekly to build muscle. Keeping your heart and body strong will give you energy and stamina to do everyday tasks with less effort.

"Other measures to lower your heart rate involve avoiding stimulants such as caffeine or tobacco, improving your sleep habits and managing stress," Dr. Diakos says.

An abnormal heart rate should be monitored, and if it continues, it's time to see a doctor, Dr. Diakos says. If you experience irregular heartbeats, including a racing heartbeat, slow heartbeat or a heart flutter, you may be experiencing a heart arrhythmia, according to MU Health Care.

"I recommend seeing a doctor when the resting heart rate is persistently high or persistently low without being a trained athlete," Dr. Diakos says.

If you believe you are having irregular heart activity, contact your doctor right away.