- Table of normal heart rate in the child
- What changes the heart rate in the child
- What increases heart rate:
- What slows your heart rate:
- What to do when your heart rate is altered
- Warning signs to go to the pediatrician
Heartbeats in infants and children are usually faster than in adults, and this is not a cause for concern. Some situations that can make the baby's heart beat faster than normal are in case of fever, crying or during play that requires effort.
In any case, it is good to see if other symptoms are present, such as changes in skin color, dizziness, fainting or heavy breathing, as they can help to identify what is happening. Thus, if the parents notice any changes like these, they should talk to the pediatrician for a thorough evaluation.
Table of normal heart rate in the child
The following table indicates normal heart rate variations from newborn to 18 years of age:
| Age | Variation | Normal average |
| Pre-mature newborn | 100 to 180 bpm | 130 bpm |
| Newborn baby | 70 to 170 bpm | 120 bpm |
| 1 to 11 months: | 80 to 160 bpm | 120 bpm |
| 1 to 2 years: | 80 to 130 bpm | 110 bpm |
| 2 to 4 years: | 80 to 120 bpm | 100 bpm |
| 4 to 6 years: | 75 to 115 bpm | 100 bpm |
| 6 to 8 years: | 70 to 110 bpm | 90 bpm |
| 8 to 12 years: | 70 to 110 bpm | 90 bpm |
| 12 to 17 years: | 60 to 110 bpm | 85 bpm |
| * bpm: beats per minute. |
Heart beats can be considered to be:
- Tachycardia: when the heart rate is higher than normal for the age: above 120 bpm in children, and above 160 bpm in babies up to 1 year old; Bradycardia: when heart rate is lower than desired for age: below 80 bpm in children and below 100 bpm in babies up to 1 year old.
To make sure that the heartbeat is altered in the baby and the child, it should be left at rest for at least 5 minutes and then check with a heart rate meter on the wrist or finger, for example. Learn more details on how to measure your heart rate.
What changes the heart rate in the child
Normally babies have a faster heart rate than an adult, and this is completely normal. However, there are certain situations that cause the heart rate to increase or decrease, such as:
What increases heart rate:
The most common situations are fever and crying, but there are other more serious situations, such as lack of oxygen in the brain, in case of severe pain, anemia, some heart disease or after heart surgery.
What slows your heart rate:
This is a rarer situation, but it can happen when there are congenital changes in the heart that affect the cardiac pacemaker, blockages in the conduction system, infections, sleep apnea, hypoglycemia, maternal hypothyroidism, systemic lupus erythematosus, fetal distress, diseases central nervous system of the fetus or elevation of intracranial pressure, for example.
What to do when your heart rate is altered
In many cases, the increase or decrease in heart rate in childhood is not serious and does not indicate a heart disease that has much meaning, but when observing that the baby's or child's heart rate is altered, parents should take it to the hospital to be evaluated.
In the most severe cases, other symptoms are usually present, such as fainting, tiredness, pallor, fever, coughing with phlegm and changes in the color of the skin that may appear more bluish.
Based on this, doctors should perform tests to identify what the baby has to indicate the treatment, which can be done with taking drugs to combat the cause of the change in heart rate, or even surgery.
Warning signs to go to the pediatrician
The pediatrician usually assesses the functioning of the heart soon after birth and also in the baby's first consultations, which are held each month. Therefore, if there is any major cardiac change, the doctor may find out in a routine visit, even if no other symptoms are present.
But when your baby or child has the following symptoms, you should go to the doctor as soon as possible if:
- The heart is beating much faster than normal; The baby or child is pale, passes out or becomes too soft; The child says the heart is beating too fast without having any effect or exercise; The baby or child passes out, or say that you feel weak or dizzy.
These cases should always be evaluated by a pediatrician, who may order tests to assess the baby's or child's heart, such as an electrocardiogram, for example.
