Heart rate is a term that describes the number of times your heart beats in a one-minute period. By tracking your heart rate, you can gain vital information about your heart's level of exertion and your overall health. You can easily detect your heart rate by measuring your pulse, which is created by the rhythmic flow of blood through your arteries as your heart contracts with each beat.
The Facts
You can track your heart rate by measuring your pulse anywhere in your body where an artery runs near your skin, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medline Plus. These areas include your neck and wrists, as well as your temples, the insides or tops of your feet, your groin and the backs of your knees. Most commonly, you will check your wrist pulse, also called your brachial pulse, the National Emergency Medicine Association (NEMA) reports. During exercise, you may prefer to measure your neck pulse, also called your carotid pulse.
Checking Your Pulse
To measure your heart rate, place the tips of your middle and index fingers at a location where your pulse is present, NEMA explains. Once you detect your pulse, measure it for ten seconds. Record the number of beats you detect, then multiply that number by six. The result of this calculation is your beats-per-minute total, or heart rate.
Normal Values
Your heart rate and associated pulse rate will change according to factors that include your age, physical conditioning, level of activity, emotional state, body size, body position and medication usage, according to Edward R. Lazkowski, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic. At rest, adults and children over age 10 have a normal heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute, Medline Plus reports. Children between the ages of one and 10 have a normal range between 70 and 120 beats per minute, while newborns have a normal range between 100 and 160 beats per minute.
Exercise
During exercise, your body will require increased amounts of oxygen and blood flow, and your heart rate will increase to meet these needs, the American Council on Exercise reports. To make sure you work within your current abilities and do not overexert yourself, you can use your pulse to track your heart's workload. Begin before exercising by determining your maximum level of exertion, or maximum heart rate; to find this number, subtract your current age from the number 220. Once you know your maximum heart rate, you can check your pulse to determine what percentage of that rate you reach during a given exercise. Typically, you will want to exercise at 50 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, depending on your current level of fitness.
Heart Health
You can also use your pulse rate to uncover potential heart-related health problems, Medline Plus notes. If your resting pulse consistently falls above the normal range, you may have a heartbeat irregularity called tachycardia. If your resting pulse consistently falls below the normal range, you may have a heartbeat irregularity called bradycardia. Consult your doctor for more information on these conditions.
References
- Medline Plus--U.S. National Library of Medicine--National Institutes of Health: Pulse
- National Emergency Medicine Association: What You Need to Know About Your Heart Rate or Pulse
- The Mayo Clinic: Fitness--Heart Rate: What's Normal?
- American Council on Exercise: Monitoring Exercise Intensity Using Heart Rate
