Monitoring your resting heart rate, which is the number of times your heart beats per minute, is a good way to tell if your heart is working properly or if it is a little tired.

Doctor Jimmy Mohamed explains how to measure it, and what lessons can be learned from it.

Every morning on Europe 1, from Monday to Friday, Doctor Jimmy Mohamed gives you tips and advice on taking care of your health and dealing with small everyday infections.

In this column, he explains why monitoring his heart rate from time to time allows us to know if our heart is working properly.

What is heart rate and how do I measure it?

"It's the number of beats per minute, the speed at which your heart beats. It usually beats 60 to 100 beats at rest. To measure your heart rate correctly, you must be at rest, not stressed, at a distance from consumption of cigarettes, coffee or any other stimulant. You can measure it with a blood pressure monitor, a connected watch or manually, by taking your pulse on the wrist, with the index and middle fingers. Count the number of beats out of thirty seconds, and multiply that number by two to get the number of beats per minute.

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Find Jimmy Mohamed's chronicle in replay and podcast here

What does a rather low frequency mean?

If your heart rate is around 60 beats per second, that means you're pretty healthy.

Great athletes have fairly low heart rates, which indicates that their heart does not need to beat very quickly to be able to propel a lot of blood throughout the body. 

Should we be concerned about too high a frequency?

Conversely, if your heart rate exceeds 80-90 beats per minute, it may mean that you may not be healthy.

Studies show this is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. 

Be careful, don't get alarmed too quickly.

Many factors can cause your heart rate to vary: a bad night, an argument ... Have your doctor checked it out to be sure.

It can also mean that you are lacking in physical exercise because, as we tend to forget, the heart is also a muscle that must be maintained.

Some foods are good for the heart too, as we explained in our article here. "