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USE IT AND LOSE IT?
USE IT AND LOSE IT?
Some species heartbeat rate averages and lifespans are shown in the table below.
| SPECIES | HEARTBEAT RATE
Beats per minute |
LIFESPAN
Years |
HEARTBEATS
during lifespan x109 |
| Hummingbird | 1200 | 3.5 | 2.2 |
| Human | 60 | 70 | 2.2 |
| African elephant | 30 | 70 | 1.1 |
| Bowhead whale | 200 | 10 | 1.1 |
In his book: Scale, Geoffrey West hypothesises that animals live for about 1.2 billion heartbeats, whatever their size, ranging from hamsters to whales. Is there an evolutionary process, or any other process, that could explain this similarity? Could heartbeat conservation cause longevity? Please comment here:
