Feeling your heartbeat and measuring your pulse is a good way to monitor your cardiac health for potential abnormalities, as well as to track your performance during exercise. However, both cardiac abnormalities and exercise can cause your heartbeat to flutter and race, which can sometimes complicate the process of accurately feeling your pulse and determining your heart rate. Fortunately, there are some smart, simple tactics you can use to make this easier and more reliable.
Know Where to Check
There are two optimal places on the body to check the pulse and measure the heartbeat: the inside of the wrist, and the hollow of the throat, according to "First Aid for You & Me," by R. Mohapatra. To check your pulse on your wrist, turn one wrist palm-up and gently press the tips of your middle and index fingers on the opposite hand onto the thumb-side of your wrist. If checking on your throat, place the tips of your index, middle and ring fingers on either side of the throat, just off center and below the angle of the jaw. You should be able to feel your pulse and count the beats in both places. Count each heartbeat for one full minute, timing with the aid of a clock with a second hand.
Take Your Time
Until you get used to taking your own pulse, you may have a difficult time finding it. The Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease suggests leaving your fingertips in one place for about five seconds, and if you can't feel your pulse, moving slightly either to the center of the wrist or the side of the throat. Wait at least five seconds in each position before moving on. Vary the pressure of your fingertips, as pressing too lightly may mean you're simply not feeling your pulse's subtle movements, and pressing too hard can stifle its movements. If you continue to have trouble, try the other wrist or side of the throat.
Ask for Help
If you're experiencing a fluttering heartbeat or are out of breath after exercising strenuously, your other biological reactions may distract you from taking your pulse properly. In such cases, it can be helpful to ask an available friend to take your pulse for you. Someone who is calm, steady and breathing normally may better be able to feel and maintain contact with your pulse, and to accurately count the beats for an entire minute.
Use Technology
If measuring your heart rate reliably is a common and ongoing need for you, you may want to invest in an electronic heart rate monitor. These can be fairly affordable, and many are available in wristwatch styles. As long as they remain powered and functional, these devices can reliably measure your heart rate even when it is racing, or when you're experiencing other types of pulse abnormalities.
Know When to Tell Your Doctor
A racing heartbeat that coincides with exercise, anxiety and other forms of physical or mental stress is normal. However, if you find that your resting heart rate often exceeds 100 beats per minute, the National Institutes of Health recommends that you call your doctor right away. When you do so, report all of your symptoms. Depending on the severity of your heart rate and the collection of symptoms, it may be recommended that you come in right away rather than wait for an appointment.
The Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease notes that heart rate is not the only important thing to consider--your heart beat should be even, and you should be able to predict when each next beat will occur. If you observe frequent gaps, extra beats or rhythm irregularities, it may be a sign of atrial fibrillation, a condition that increases your odds of stroke. Contact your physician for additional tests if you detect such irregularities.
References
- "First Aid for You & Me"; R. Mohapatra; 2000
- Research Center for Stroke & Heart Disease: How to Check Your Pulse
- Centers for Disease Contro: Pulse and Blood Pressure Procedures for Household Interviewers
- "Tips for Success: Triathlon"; Hermann Aschwer; 2000
- National Institutes of Health: Heart Palpitations
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