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Rest heart rate and life expectancy

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

|October 8, 1997

Summary

Mammalian heart rate and lifespan show an inverse relationship, suggesting a fixed number of heartbeats per lifetime. This biological constant may be linked to cellular energy metabolism, not just heart rate.

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Area of Science:

Comparative physiology
Biophysics
Evolutionary biology

Background:

Mammalian species exhibit an inverse semilogarithmic relationship between heart rate and life expectancy.
The product of heart rate and life expectancy suggests a species-specific, predetermined number of heartbeats per lifetime.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the concept of a fixed number of heartbeats per lifetime across mammalian species.
To explore the relationship between heartbeats per lifetime, body weight, and metabolic rate.
To determine if life span is predetermined by cellular energetics.

Main Methods:

Calculated the number of heartbeats per lifetime for various mammalian species.
Plotted heartbeats per lifetime against life expectancy and body weight using an allometric scale.
Analyzed universal biologic scaling and mortality data related to basal energy consumption per body atom per heart beat.

Main Results:

The number of heartbeats per lifetime among mammals is remarkably constant within an order of magnitude, averaging 7.3 ± 5.6 x 10^8 beats.
Basal energy consumption per body atom per heart beat is consistent across species (approximately 10^-8 O2 molecules/heart beat).
This yields a mean of 10 x 10^8 heartbeats per lifetime, suggesting life span is linked to cellular energetics.

Conclusions:

Life span appears predetermined by the fundamental energetics of living cells.
The inverse relationship between heart rate and life span is likely an epiphenomenon, with heart rate serving as a marker of metabolic rate.
The potential for extending human life through cardiac slowing remains uncertain and requires further investigation.

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