How does the heart rate of older adults compare to younger adults?

• A. Significantly higher
• B. Slightly lower
• C. About the same
• D. Highly variable

Answer: (B)

Resting heart rate tends to be slightly lower in older adults than in younger adults, even though maximum heart rate declines with age. As people age, autonomic regulation and metabolic needs shift a bit, which can allow the heart to maintain perfusion at rest without needing to beat as fast. This means that, in general, the steady-state heart rate isn’t higher with age and is often a touch lower rather than higher. It’s important to contrast this with maximum heart rate, which does decrease with age, affecting exercise capacity rather than resting rate. The other options don’t fit the typical pattern: a significantly higher resting rate isn’t common in healthy aging, and saying it’s about the same or highly variable ignores the usual trend toward a slightly lower resting rate.