#Heart Health

A recent study suggests that a small equation, combining steps taken and resting heart rate data from your smartwatch, might significantly improve heart health monitoring. Researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, in a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, propose a new metric: the daily heart rate per step (DHRPS). This ratio, achieved by dividing the average resting heart rate by the average daily steps, can indicate how efficiently one’s heart is functioning.

A recent study from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University reveals a simple yet potentially powerful new metric to assess heart health: the Daily Heart Rate Per Step (DHRPS). By dividing an individual’s average daily heart rate by their daily step count, the DHRPS metric provides insight into cardiovascular efficiency and risk of related diseases, as published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

With millions globally relying on smartwatches and fitness devices for health insights, the introduction of DHRPS emerges as a significant advancement. Traditionally, users focused on step counts and average heart rates separately to gauge fitness, but this new approach combines these metrics to best highlight cardiovascular health. Researchers mapped Fitbit data from nearly 7,000 smartwatch users against electronic medical records, confirming that higher DHRPS values correlate strongly with increased risks of conditions such as Type II diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, coronary atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction.