Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
everything has 1 billion heartbeats
According to the royal institute christmas lecture last night, every living organism with a heart, has about 1 billion heartbeats before it stops working, of course many people and other creatures die before they reach that due to other things.
But how would you work out how long an average human heart lasts? He didn't say if this was worked out using an english or american billion and what is the average human heart beats per minute count? I've tried using all kinds of combinations but the only number over about 40 i've been able to make was i think 290ish . . .!!!! which can't be right.
But how would you work out how long an average human heart lasts? He didn't say if this was worked out using an english or american billion and what is the average human heart beats per minute count? I've tried using all kinds of combinations but the only number over about 40 i've been able to make was i think 290ish . . .!!!! which can't be right.
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These are rather large generalisations to show a trend.
When comparing this across a huge range of creatures if you get an error of two or three hundred percent here or there it doesn't detract from the general principle.
Especialy when you're talking about humans who are a special case in all sorts of ways.
The principle is that there is a correlation between heart rate and longevity.
When comparing this across a huge range of creatures if you get an error of two or three hundred percent here or there it doesn't detract from the general principle.
Especialy when you're talking about humans who are a special case in all sorts of ways.
The principle is that there is a correlation between heart rate and longevity.
The theory fails with relation to humans.
Assuming 70 beats per minute an 80 year old heart will have beaten just under 3 billion (that's three thousand million) times.
It works quite well for dogs, though. There are about 7.8 million minutes in 15 years (a reasonable lifespan for a dog) and to achieve 1 billion beats the dog's heart will have to beat at a bit over 120 times a minute, which I believe is about right for the "average" dog.
I really must try to get out more !
Assuming 70 beats per minute an 80 year old heart will have beaten just under 3 billion (that's three thousand million) times.
It works quite well for dogs, though. There are about 7.8 million minutes in 15 years (a reasonable lifespan for a dog) and to achieve 1 billion beats the dog's heart will have to beat at a bit over 120 times a minute, which I believe is about right for the "average" dog.
I really must try to get out more !
New judge, If you recalculate and take the average human life span as about 35-40 years and a lower resting heart rate (both of which are more likely to apply to early humans) it will work out close to 1 billion.
We, as humans, are the only life form that has a significantly longer lifespan now when compared to a couple of hundred thousand years ago.
We, as humans, are the only life form that has a significantly longer lifespan now when compared to a couple of hundred thousand years ago.
I find it hard to believe that a person who trains everyday and raises their heart rate to say 160 BPM for a period of an hour will then have a lower resting heart rate that will balance out this billion hertbeat theory.
I think it is a very general theory open to many different factors.
I heard from somebody at the gym that your maximum heart rate when excercising should be 220 BPM minus your age - anyone heard that one before?
I think it is a very general theory open to many different factors.
I heard from somebody at the gym that your maximum heart rate when excercising should be 220 BPM minus your age - anyone heard that one before?
I've worked out a way to explain it, in simple terms.
The heart is a muscle. The more you exercise any muscle, the stronger it becomes. The stronger a muscle becomes, the further it can move blood at once. The further the blood can be pushed in one go, the less times it needs to pump, to get the blood all the way around your body.
The heart is a muscle. The more you exercise any muscle, the stronger it becomes. The stronger a muscle becomes, the further it can move blood at once. The further the blood can be pushed in one go, the less times it needs to pump, to get the blood all the way around your body.
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