This version was machine-translated from German and has not been medically reviewed. The authoritative version is the German version.

Vital signs by age

Heart rate, respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure – acceptable ranges for unwell children (RCH Melbourne)

All age groups

Age	Heart rate (/min)	Respiratory rate (/min)	Systolic blood pressure
Newborn (term)	120–170	25–60	60–95 mmHg
3 months	115–170	25–60	60–105 mmHg
6 months	110–170	20–55	75–105 mmHg
1 year	105–150	20–45	70–105 mmHg
2 years	95–150	20–40	70–105 mmHg
4 years	80–150	17–30	75–110 mmHg
6 years	75–140	16–30	80–115 mmHg
8 years	70–130	16–30	80–115 mmHg
10 years	60–130	15–25	85–120 mmHg
12 years	65–120	15–25	90–120 mmHg
14 years	60–115	14–25	90–125 mmHg
16 years	60–115	14–25	90–130 mmHg
from 17 years	60–115	14–25	90–135 mmHg

Fast breathing per WHO: from 60/min (under 2 months), from 50/min (2 to 11 months), from 40/min (1 to under 5 years). The WHO gives no threshold for older children.

How to count correctly

Count breaths in a calm or sleeping child over a full minute – infants breathe irregularly, and counting for a quarter of a minute and multiplying by four is misleading. In infants, the pulse is best felt on the inner upper arm or heard with the ear on the chest; in older children, at the wrist.

Fever and agitation alter the values

With fever, the heart and breathing rates increase; a value above the table during fever is therefore not in itself a sign of respiratory distress. What matters is how the child breathes: whether they flare their nostrils, draw in the skin between the ribs, grunt or turn pale – these are the signs the pediatrician looks for.

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Sources

Clinical Practice Guideline: Acceptable ranges for physiological variables (acceptable ranges for heart rate, respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure in unwell children by age) The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, 2023. Clinical guideline; generally the P5 and P95, rounded to practical values
Normal ranges of heart rate and respiratory rate in children from birth to 18 years of age: a systematic review of observational studies (Lancet 377:1011–1018) Fleming S, Thompson M, Stevens R et al., University of Oxford, 2011. Systematic review of 69 studies with 143,346 healthy children – background, not the basis of the RCH table
Development of Heart and Respiratory Rate Percentile Curves for Hospitalized Children (Pediatrics 131:e1150–e1157) Bonafide CP, Brady PW, Keren R et al., Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2013. Percentile curves from 14,014 hospitalized children
Pocket book of hospital care for children: guidelines for the management of common childhood illnesses, 2nd edition – definition of fast breathing (p. 76 ff.) World Health Organization (WHO), 2013. Guide (freely accessible)

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Note

Calculation aid for healthcare professionals. Clinical assessment remains with the treating physician.

Review date of the German original: 2026-11-05 · Methodology

Frequently asked questions

Vital signs by age: What does this calculator compute?

Heart rate, respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure by age: table of acceptable ranges for unwell children according to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (rounded P5–P95), WHO threshold for fast breathing, classification of your own measurements.

Vital signs by age: Which sources is this calculator based on?

The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne: Clinical Practice Guideline: Acceptable ranges for physiological variables (acceptable ranges for heart rate, respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure in unwell children by age) (2023); Fleming S, Thompson M, Stevens R et al., University of Oxford: Normal ranges of heart rate and respiratory rate in children from birth to 18 years of age: a systematic review of observational studies (Lancet 377:1011–1018) (2011); Bonafide CP, Brady PW, Keren R et al., Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Development of Heart and Respiratory Rate Percentile Curves for Hospitalized Children (Pediatrics 131:e1150–e1157) (2013); World Health Organization (WHO): Pocket book of hospital care for children: guidelines for the management of common childhood illnesses, 2nd edition – Definition of rapid breathing (p. 76 ff.) (2013)