Background: Equations for predicting maximal heart rate (HRmax) are widely used in exercise testing and for training prescription, but their efficacy remains controversial in the literature.
Objective: To compare maximal heart rate during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) using the prediction equations developed by Karvonen and Tanaka.
Methods: Of the 24,120 maximal treadmill graded exercise tests stored in the CEMAFE database from 1994 to 2006, 2047 HRmax values were analyzed, 1091 of which were from male and 956 from female sedentary subjects. These data were used as a gold standard to compare Karvonen's and Tanaka's prediction formulas.
Results: Mean measured maximal heart rates were 181.0 +/- 14.0; 180.6 +/- 13.0, and 180.8 +/- 13.8 for men, women, and both genders combined, respectively. Likewise, mean values from Karvonen's equation were 182.0 +/- 11.4; 183.7 +/- 11.5, and 183.9 +/- 11.7; and from Tanaka's, 182.0 +/- 8.0; 182.6 +/- 8.0, and 182.7 +/- 8.2. Karvonen's and Tanaka's equations yielded the same correlation coefficients, as compared with measured maximal heart rate (r = 0.72).
Conclusion: Karvonen's and Tanaka's equations are similar in predicting maximal heart rate and show good correlation with measured maximal heart rate.