Women’s heart beats faster than men

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Today I want to share with you the fascinating facts about heart beats difference among men and women. There are so many differences between men and women from physical to psychological differences, among them the heart beats rate differentiate men and women. Do you want to know why women's heart beats faster than men? Follow me on this article. You are welcome!!.

The human heart is a four-chambered pump consisting of two blood-receiving chambers, the right and left atria, and two blood-pumping chambers, the right and left ventricles. With each beat of the heart, blood is forced from the ventricles into the arteries. Each ventricle is capable of ejecting approximately 70 ml of blood with each beat. The larger male heart has a volume slightly larger than this and the female volume slightly lower.

At rest, human tissues and organs require a constant level of blood flow to deliver life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients. The level of blood flow required for the average adult is approximately 5,000 ml per minute. With an ejection volume of about 70 ml, the ventricles need to beat just over 70 times per minute, ejecting 70 ml with each beat, in order to achieve a flow rate of 5,000 ml per minute.

The heart beat rate is controlled by a small patch of specialized heart cells located in the right atrium and referred to as the sino-atrial node. This natural pacemaker raises or lowers the heart rate based on information from nerves that respond to body temperature, joint movement, and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The female pacemaker, while programmed to function at a higher rate, responds in the same manner to nerve signals as the male heart pacemaker.

The human heart beats approximately 70 to 85 times per minute in the average adult, with a notable difference between the genders. The average adult male heart rate is between 70 and 72 beats per minute, while there average for adult women is between 78 and 82 beats. This difference is largely accounted for by the size of the heart, which is typically smaller in females than males. The smaller female heart, pumping less blood with each beat, needs to beat at a faster rate to match the larger male heart's output.

A Canadian study has found that women have a circadian rhythm, which runs between 1.7 and 2.3 hours ahead of their male partners.

According to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this means they are likely to feel more tired earlier in the evening than men. The researchers say these differences are mainly due to the influence of our sex hormones.

The heart’s rhythm is coordinated by its own electrical system. With each heartbeat, the electrical impulse begins at the sinus (Sinoatrial) node, also called the heart’s natural pacemaker. The Sinoatrial node is a cluster of specialized cells, located in the right atrium. The Sinoatrial node produces the electrical impulses that set the rate and rhythm of your heartbeat. The impulse spreads through the walls of the right and left atria, causing them to contract, forcing blood into the ventricles.

Women and men are similar when it comes to the basic heart rate and rhythm. However, while the basic electrical system is the same there are differences; Women tend to have a faster baseline heart rate, Women’s ECG (electrocardiogram) readings may be different and Women Have a Faster Baseline Heart Rate Than Men.

The ECG (Electrocardiogram) is a test used to record on graph paper the electrical activity of the heart. The picture, drawn by a computer from information supplied by electrodes placed on the skin of the chest, arms and legs, shows the timing of the different phases of the heart rhythm.

On average, women tend to have a faster baseline heart rate than men. This difference is seen in girls, on an average, as young as five years old. There is also a shorter sinus node refractory time, this means that it takes a shorter time for the Sinoatrial node to recover and become ready to fire an impulse again.

According to Dr Adam Taylor, a senior lecturer in anatomy at Lancaster University Medical School: “These hormones (Sex hormones) can affect our health in everything from how fast our hair grows to how quickly we blink and even how rapidly we digest food and alcohol.”

Male and female hearts have certain structural differences. Female hearts are on average smaller than male hearts, the arteries are also smaller. So it has to work more to get all the blood oxygenated - blood volume in males and females is not proportionately different.

In a larger body blood takes longer to circulate, in a smaller body less time to circulate hence more heartbeats. Adult elephants clock at 25 beats or less per minute, Human babies clock 120+ in the first few months.

So, why women's heart beat faster than men?? The following explanations reveals the truth;

As per the heart anatomy, the size of the heart is smaller in females than males. An average male’s heart rate is in between 70-72 bpm and the average female’s heart rate is in between 78 – 82 . The difference in this frequency is due to the size of the heart. Females typically have a smaller size than males. Smaller the heart, more beats is needed to pump the same amount of blood into the body compared to a larger (males) heart.

A woman’s heart is about two-thirds the size of a man’s, weighing an average of 120g, compared to an average 180g in the male. However, because the female organ is smaller, it beats slightly faster to make up for its size.

While the average male heart beats 70-72 times a minute, an adult woman’s beats 78-82 times a minute. However heart experts say this has no effect on women’s overall heart health during their lifetimes or the type of heart problems they develop.

Posted by: Lusubilo A. Mwaijengo