Carlos Solis
A new analysis of nearly 460,000 people found a U-shaped link between resting heart rate and stroke risk.
The researchers presented the results at the European Stroke Organization conference in Maastricht, Netherlands, in 2026. They found the lowest stroke risk in the middle heart-rate range, roughly 60 to 69 beats per minute — with risk rising at both low and high extremes.
- People with heart rates of 90 beats per minute or higher had a 45% higher risk of stroke compared with the midrange group.
- Those with heart rates under 50 beats per minute had a 25% higher risk.
These differences stayed significant after adjusting for other risk factors such as age, blood pressure, and atrial fibrillation.
How heart rate ties to stroke type — and why
The breakdown by stroke type showed that a very low heart rate was mainly linked to ischemic strokes, which happen when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. A high heart rate was associated with both ischemic strokes and hemorrhagic strokes, the latter involving bleeding in the brain.
One possible reason is that a lower heart rate lengthens the pauses between beats, which can reduce steady blood flow in the brain’s small vessels and increase the chance of a blockage. Conversely, a higher heart rate can raise stress on vessel walls, making them more vulnerable to both blockages and ruptures. The authors present these as hypotheses.
Limitations and practical advice
A low resting heart rate can still reflect good cardiovascular fitness, especially in physically active people. In other cases, however, a low or high heart rate may serve as a useful warning sign alongside traditional risk factors.
Doctors recommend that patients report unusually low or high heart rates to their clinician and continue managing established risks such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol.
This story is based on reporting from Live Science
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