Continue counting for one full minute. The number should lie somewhere between 45 and 80. An elite athlete will have a low resting heart rate. An older person who is sedentary will have a higher resting heart rate. The higher resting heart rate does not indicate cardiovascular disease but lack of aerobic conditioning.
Drugs affect the resting heart rate.
Drugs such as caffeine and those found in cold medications raise the heart rate and do not give a true indication of the resting count. Some drugs, such as LSD, have been known to increase the resting heart rate for months after a single dose has been taken.