What happens if your heart beats too slow

Severe or prolonged bradycardia can be treated in a few ways. For instance, if medication side effects are causing the slow heart rate, then the medication regimen can be adjusted or discontinued.

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I want to get healthier. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. A slow heart rate or a low heart rate is known as bradycardia , and occurs frequently in older adults.

Baez-Escudero shares when to worry about low heart rate — and the signs and symptoms to watch for. Doctors consider a low heart rate to be 60 beats per minute bpm and below. In contrast, a normal range is 60 to bpm while awake.

For most young people, highly trained athletes, and people who work out regularly, a low heart rate while exercising — defined as below 60 bpm — is normal and healthy. The same goes for your nightly snooze. It controls how quickly the top and bottom heart chambers pump blood through the body. Baez-Escudero says. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Homoud MK. Sinus bradycardia. Accessed Sept. Bradycardia: Slow heart rate. American Heart Association.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Slow heartbeat. Heart Rhythm Society. Conduction disorders. Link MS. Permanent cardiac pacing: Overview of devices and indications. Braswell-Pickering EA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Stress and heart health.