Heart rate 112 on an adult - what does it mean?

Where 112 bpm sits on the adult scale

What a resting pulse of 112 means

Common temporary causes: caffeine or energy drinks, nicotine, alcohol (also the day after), stress or anxiety, fever or infection, dehydration, a large meal, heat, pain, and recent physical activity. Decongestants, asthma inhalers and thyroid medication can also raise the pulse.

Sit quietly for five minutes and measure again. If your resting pulse is repeatedly above 100, causes worth checking include anemia, an overactive thyroid, heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation, and low fitness after illness.

Ranges apply to adults and children aged 10 and older, measured at rest (American Heart Association). By the numbers: at 112 bpm the heart beats about every 0.54 seconds — roughly 161,280 beats a day.

78 lying, 112 standing: what that 34-beat jump can mean

Picture someone whose pulse is 78 after resting on the couch, who then stands up and watches it climb to 112 and stay there while they feel woozy, foggy and shaky. The standing reading alone looks like tachycardia. The difference between the two positions is the more useful number: here it is 34 beats.

Doctors consider postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, when the heart rate rises by 30 beats or more within ten minutes of standing (40 or more in teenagers), stays up, and comes with symptoms, while blood pressure does not fall. A jump like 78 to 112 fits that pattern if it lasts and repeats. Healthy people also speed up when they stand, but by less, and the rate settles within a minute or two.

POTS compared with fainting-type drops

Two standing problems are easy to confuse:

• POTS: the pulse climbs a lot and stays high; blood pressure holds steady.
• Orthostatic hypotension: blood pressure falls on standing, often with a smaller rise in heart rate. It is more common in older adults, with dehydration and with some blood pressure medicines.

That is why a home cuff that shows both pulse and blood pressure is handy. Lying and standing readings of both numbers, written down together, tell a doctor far more than one value. In clinic, a tilt-table test repeats the same idea under controlled conditions.

POTS often starts after a viral illness, surgery, pregnancy or a long period of bed rest, and is seen most often in women of childbearing age. Typical complaints are dizziness, palpitations, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and symptoms that get worse in heat, after big meals and on long periods of standing.

What tends to help

Management is mostly practical. Doctors commonly suggest more fluids, and often more salt if your blood pressure and kidneys allow it, so ask before changing your diet. Waist-high compression garments help keep blood from pooling in the legs. Exercise is important but usually starts lying or sitting, such as rowing, recumbent cycling or swimming, before moving to upright activity over weeks. Some people also need medicines.

Lie down with legs raised if you feel close to fainting. Fainting with injury, chest pain or severe breathlessness needs emergency care (call 911). More on how body position changes the rate is on the human heart rate.

For a reliable resting value, sit quietly for five minutes first and average a few mornings: Resting Heart Rate: What It Says About Your Health. You can also measure by tapping along on the start page.

Nearby values

• 107 bpm
• 108 bpm
• 109 bpm
• 110 bpm
• 111 bpm
• 113 bpm
• 114 bpm
• 115 bpm
• 116 bpm
• 117 bpm

Measured on a child instead? See heart rate 112 in a child.

Sources: American Heart Association: All About Heart Rate · MedlinePlus: Pulse · ACSM position stand on exercise intensity (2011)

This page explains a single reading in general terms. It is not a diagnosis. Heart rate alone cannot tell whether the rhythm is regular or whether the heart is healthy — if you are worried, talk to a doctor.