 What should you know about your heart rate?Even if you’re not an athlete, knowledge about your heart rate can help you monitor your fitness level — and it might even help you spot developing health problems. Show
Your heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute. Normal heart rate varies from person to person. Knowing yours can be an important heart-health gauge. As you age, changes in the rate and regularity of your pulse can change and may signify a heart condition or other condition that needs to be addressed. Where is it and what is a normal heart rate?The best places to find your pulse are the:
To get the most accurate reading, put your finger over your pulse and count the number of beats in 60 seconds. Your resting heart rate is the heart pumping the lowest amount of blood you need because you’re not exercising. If you’re sitting or lying and you’re calm, relaxed and aren’t ill, your heart rate is normally between 60 (beats per minute) and 100 (beats per minute). But a heart rate lower than 60 doesn’t necessarily signal a medical problem. It could be the result of taking a drug such as a beta blocker. A lower heart rate is also common for people who get a lot of physical activity or are very athletic. Active people often have a lower resting heart rate (as low as 40) because their heart muscle is in better condition and doesn’t need to work as hard to maintain a steady beat. A low or moderate amount of physical activity doesn’t usually change the resting pulse much. How Other Factors Affect Heart Rate
When To Call Your DoctorIf you’re on a beta blocker to decrease your heart rate (and lower blood pressure) or to control an abnormal rhythm (arrhythmia), your doctor may ask you to monitor and log your heart rate. Keeping tabs on your heart rate can help your doctor determine whether to change the dosage or switch to a different medication. If your pulse is very low or if you have frequent episodes of unexplained fast heart rates, especially if they cause you to feel weak or dizzy or faint, tell your doctor, who can decide if it’s an emergency. Your pulse is one tool to help get a picture of your health. Learn more:
Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff. We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process. ‘Pulse’ is one of the most well-known medical terms. It is widely familiar as a measure of the heartbeat. The pulse is a crucial measure of the heart rate. An extremely slow pulse combined with dizziness can indicate shock and help identify internal bleeding. A pulse that is too quick, on the other hand, points to high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. With practice, it is easy to take your own pulse and those of other people. But what is the pulse, why is it important, and what is the best way to find and measure the pulse? This article gives straightforward guidance. Arteries run closely to the surface of the skin at the wrist and neck, making the pulse particularly easy to find at these points. Here are the simple steps needed to take a pulse at the wrist. This is known as the radial pulse:
The pulse can also be found on the neck using two fingers in a similar way. Gently press into the soft groove on either side of the windpipe. This is the pulse running through one of the carotid arteries. These are the main arteries that run from the heart to the head. Less easy places to find a pulse are:
The video below, presented by a nurse, explains how to take a pulse: The pulse is the expansion of the arteries. This expansion is caused by an increase in blood pressure pushing against the elastic walls of the arteries each time the heart beats. These expansions rise and fall in time with the heart as it pumps the blood and then rests as it refills. The pulsations are felt at certain points on the body where larger arteries run closer to the skin. Once the pulse has been found by following the steps above, hold still and carry out the following steps:
The heart should beat steadily, with a regular gap between each contraction, so the pulse should also be steady. As a general rule, adults will have a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm). In general, people with better physical fitness will have slower heart rates than pepole who exercise less. Athletes, for instance, may have a resting heart rate of just 40 to 60 bpm. However, it is normal for the heart rate to vary in response to movement, activity, exercise, anxiety, excitement, and fear. If you feel that your heart is beating out of rhythm or at an unhealthy speed of under 40 bpm or over 120 bpm, and this can be felt when taking a pulse, discuss this with a doctor. You might also feel that your heart has missed or “skipped” a beat, or there has been an extra beat. An extra beat is called an ectopic beat. Ectopic beats are very common, are usually harmless, and do not need any treatment. If there are concerns about palpitations or ectopic beats, however, visit a doctor. Hospitals use monitors that can check the heart rate and the pulse. Heart rate monitors are available for home use and are also available online. If you use a home monitor, you should:
A clinical development of recent years is the wide range of products now available on the consumer market for personal health monitoring Share on PinterestCardiac monitors are used in hospital settings to track the vital signs of patients.Numerous devices can be connected to software apps for mobile phones, and there are a number of health monitoring wearables available that combine the hardware and software in one device. The United State (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a page listing a number of the apps cleared by the health product regulator. This might be a good place to start. Devices are now available that connect to software apps for mobile phones. Some devices for home use include both hardware and software. Some provide readings equivalent to those of an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine. It is easy to measure a pulse and it can give a useful indication of your state of health. If you have any concerns regarding your heart rate, speak to a doctor. Which pulse rates are typically found on well conditioned athletes?Well-trained athletes may have a resting heart rate between 30 and 40 bpm. But everyone's heart rate is different. There's no “ideal” resting heart rate, even though a lower resting heart rate may mean you're more fit.
Which of the following pulses is palpated on the top of the foot?The dorsalis pedis pulse is palpable on the dorsum of the foot in the first intermetatarsal space just lateral to the extensor tendon of the great toe.
Which of the following pulses is palpated?Radial artery pulse - The radial pulse is palpated immediately above the wrist joint near the base of the thumb (i.e., common site), or in the anatomical snuff box (i.e., alternative site), by gently pressing the radial artery against the underlying bone with the middle and index fingers.
How long should the pulse be counted for the most accurate results?Counting the pulse for 30 seconds and then multiplying by 2 to get the pulse per minute is most accurate when assessing pulses in sinus rhythm (Hollerbach & Sneed, 1990). As the pulse rate increases, counting for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4 becomes more inaccurate.
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Which of the following pulse rates are typically found on well-conditioned athletes?
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