Flash: roller coasters have effect on heart rate

Like most of you, I've ridden many a roller coaster in my time. While I don't seek these thrilling rides out at amusement parks, I do admire the amount of engineering that goes into these machines, and how infrequent accidents actually happen on them. It's quite impressive, really.

In most cases, I do see warnings at the entrances of roller coasters that give warnings to those with breathing and heart difficulties. Those warnings have once again been vindicated, as a new study out of Germany says that the heart rates of most roller coaster riders does indeed spike during those twists and loops. This can naturally be dangerous to many riders.

In the study, the heart rates of roller coaster riders averaged 89 beats per minute before the ride began. Once the ride began, an average of 155 beats per minute was taken from the studied riders, with the largest spike coming during large ascents. Talk about mind over body - -the anticipation of a fall caused the highest rates -- not the actual fall." the doctors write.