You must be at least 17 years old to donate to the general blood supply, or 16 years old with parental/guardian consent, if allowed by state law. Learn more about the reasons for a lower age limit.
Other Causes of Elevated Heart Rate. Elevated heart rate when sick is actually your heartâs aid in order to quell the sickness. However, there can be other causes for elevated heart rate as well. Electrical signals produced and sent to the heart tissues are responsible for controlling the heart rate.
POTS is an unusual condition in which your heart rate speeds up by 30 or more beats per minute with little or no change in blood pressure. Such an increase in heart rate may mean that your cardiovascular system is working as hard as it can to maintain blood pressure and blood flow to your brain. According to the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, POTS affects about 500,000 Americans, most of whom are women under age 35.