“Women are not small men,†says Martha Gulati, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine. “There is a gender difference
in exercise capacity a woman can achieve. Different physiologic
responses can occur. â€Â
Gulati, who five years ago was the first researcher to define the normal exercise capacity or fitness
level for women, has come up with a better way to calculate the healthy maximum heart rate for women, and it's based on a study of 5,437 healthy women ages 35
and older. Why does it matter? Because many athletic men and women use their
peak heart rate multiplied by 65 to 85 percent to determine their upper
heart rate when exercising.
A Northwestern Medical School press release reports that the old formula for finding maximum heart rate — 220 minus age
— used for almost four decades, is based on studies of men. The new
formula for women, which is based, curiously, on research with women, is 206 minus 88 percent of
age. The school reports that at age 50, the original formula gives a peak rate of 170
beats per minute for men and women. The new women’s formula gives a
maximum heart rate of 162 beats for women.