A recent study from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University has introduced a new metric for assessing cardiovascular health, termed Daily Heart Rate per Step (DHRPS). This metric combines average daily heart rate and daily step count to provide insights into heart efficiency. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, indicates that individuals with higher DHRPS ratios may be at greater risk for various health conditions, including Type II diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, coronary atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction.
The DHRPS is calculated by dividing an individual's average daily heart rate by their daily step count. For example, an individual taking 10,000 steps with an average resting heart rate of 80 would have a DHRPS of 0.008, while another with a resting heart rate of 120 would have a DHRPS of 0.012. The latter's higher ratio suggests increased cardiac risk.
Experts, including Dr. Peter Aziz from the Cleveland Clinic, have noted that DHRPS may serve as a more effective measure of cardiovascular fitness compared to standard metrics like daily steps or heart rate alone. The research involved analyzing Fitbit data from nearly 7,000 smartwatch users alongside their electronic medical records, thereby enhancing the study's validity.
While DHRPS does not account for heart rate during exercise, it offers an overall gauge of heart efficiency. The study's findings suggest that this new metric could empower individuals to better manage their health using common data they already collect from fitness devices. According to lead author Zhanlin Chen, calculating DHRPS involves simple arithmetic that can aid users in understanding their cardiovascular health more effectively.