What heart rate constitutes bradycardia?

• A. Heart rate less than 60 beats per minute.
• B. Heart rate less than 50 beats per minute.
• C. Heart rate less than 40 beats per minute.
• D. Heart rate less than 70 beats per minute.

Answer: (B)

Bradycardia means the heart is beating more slowly than normal. For an adult at rest, a typical rate is about 60–100 beats per minute. While many sources define bradycardia as below 60, exam questions often use a stricter threshold to signify a clinically meaningful slow rate. A heart rate under 50 beats per minute is the commonly used cutoff for defining bradycardia in this context, because it more reliably indicates a true slowdown that may require attention. Rates between 50 and 59 can be normal for some people and may not cause symptoms, but below 50 bpm is the boundary most tests target to label bradycardia. Rates under 40 bpm indicate more severe bradycardia, and numbers like under 70 bpm are not the standard defining threshold.