Variations in Heart Rate Due to Physical and Environmental Conditions

Background: Heart rate (HR) is a vital physiological indicator influenced by multiple internal and external factors. Specific Background: Urban environments, lifestyle habits, and occupational stressors have raised concerns about their impact on cardiovascular health. Knowledge Gap: Despite existing literature on isolated factors like smoking or noise, limited research has examined the combined effects of environmental and physiological variables on HR among healthy individuals in real-world settings. Aims: This study investigates how physical factors—age, gender, smoking, hypertension, sleep position, noise-induced stress, and ambient temperature—affect HR among healthy individuals in Erbil, Iraq. Results: Data from 120 subjects reveal that smoking, noise exposure, prone sleeping, and elevated temperatures significantly increase HR, while athletes and hypertensive individuals tend to have lower HRs. No significant HR differences were observed between sexes across age groups. Novelty: This study uniquely integrates multiple environmental and physiological factors, demonstrating how combined exposures impact cardiovascular dynamics, an area underexplored in Middle Eastern populations. Implications: The findings underscore the need for targeted public health interventions addressing modifiable risk factors (e.g., noise and heat exposure) to mitigate cardiovascular strain in urban settings.Highlights: Smoking and stress significantly elevate heart rate, particularly in younger males and in noisy environments. Temperature extremes (e.g., bakery conditions) raise heart rate, indicating a strong link between ambient heat and cardiovascular response. Posture during sleep influences heart rate, with the supine position associated with the highest readings. Keywords: Heart Rate, Temperature, Stress, Smoking, Hypertension