HOW TO CHECK YOUR PULSE

Understanding your pulse tells you how fast your heart is beating. Your pulse is also a signal on how well your heart is working and even your health and fitness level which is the reason for checking your pulse. To some individual, it may sound complex, but checking your pulse is easy and it doesn’t require any unusual tools. You can test your pulse by hand or by using an electronic

pulse meter or heart rate monitor.

Here are the steps involved in checking your pulse:

• Turn your left hand so that your palm is face-up.
• With the index and middle fingers of your right hand, draw a line from the base of your thumb to just below the crease in your wrist. Your fingers should nestle just to the left of the large tendon that pops up when you bend your wrist toward you.
• Don’t press too hard, that will make the pulse go away. Use gentle pressure.
• Wait. It can take several seconds—and several micro-adjustments in the placement of your two fingers on your wrist—to find your pulse. Just keep moving your fingers down or up your wrist in small increments (and pausing for a few seconds) until you find it.
• Notice whether your pulse is regular (keeps time like a metronome) or irregular (more random, fast-slow, fast-slow). An irregular pulse is a tell-tale sign of AFib or other heart rhythm disturbances.
• To take your pulse rate:

a. Find a watch with a second hand and place it on your right wrist or on the table next to your left hand.

b. After finding your pulse, count the number of beats for 20 seconds.

c. Multiply by 3 to get your heart rate, or beats per minute (or just count for 60 seconds for a math-free option).

d. Normal, resting heart rate is about 60-100 beats per minute.