Check Your Heart Rate

Monitoring your heart health is one of the most important things you can do to prevent major problems in the future. To monitor your heart rate, you can check it manually by counting the beats per minute, or you can wear one of a variety of devices designed to help you monitor your heart rate. Consult with your doctor about any concerns you may have relating to your overall heart health or any irregularities you might have noticed.

Steps

Checking Your Heart Rate Manually

1. Find your pulse. Place two fingers (your index and middle fingers) on your neck in the space between your windpipe on the front and the big muscle on the side of your neck, called the sternocleidomastoid. This is your carotid artery, and it is usually the easiest place to check your heart beat. Press lightly until you feel a pulse.
   • Alternatively, you can place two fingers on the outer part of your inner wrist, just under where your thumb and palm curve into your wrist. This is called your radial pulse, which may be fainter or more difficult to find.
   • You can also find your pulse by placing two fingers on the side of your wrist below your pinky finger. This is called your ulnar pulse and is usually even more faint than the radial.
2. Count the beats. With your index and middle fingers pressed gently against your pulse, use a stopwatch or clock to count the beats you feel in 60 seconds. Since heart rates are calculated in beats per minute, you’ll need to know how many of your own beats you feel in one minute’s time.
   • Make sure that you are sitting still while counting because strenuous activity can cause your heart rate to rise and give you an inaccurate reading.
   • You can also count the beats that occur in 30 seconds and multiply by two, count the beats in 20 seconds and multiply by three, or count the beats that occur in 15 seconds and multiply by four. However, these methods aren’t quite as accurate as counting the beats for a full minute.
3. Analyze the results. For a normal adult, including seniors, the average resting heart rate falls somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute. If your resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats/minute, you may want to contact your doctor. If your resting heart rate is usually under 60 (and you are not a trained athlete), you should consider consulting with your doctor – especially if you ever feel faint, dizzy, or short of breath.
   • For children under the age of ten, the average heart rate is around 75-115 beats per minute.

Getting Help with Your Heart Rate

1. Wear a fitness tracker. An electronic fitness tracker (usually in the form of a watch that you wear on your wrist) can be an excellent way to track your heart rate. In addition to keeping track of your daily steps taken and activity levels, most of these trackers also keep record of your sleeping patterns, heart rate, and even allow you to log in your calories consumed.
   • Each model of fitness tracker comes with a variety of features. Make sure the one you purchase has a heart rate feature before you buy it.
   • Some of the most popular fitness trackers with heart rate monitoring include the Fitbit Charge 2, the Garmin Vivosmart HR+, the TomTom Spark 3, and the Garmin Forerunner 35.
2. Wear another kind of heart rate monitoring device. There are a variety of heart rate monitors on the market. While the fitness trackers may be the most popular, they aren’t necessarily the most accurate. You can try a band that goes around your chest to monitor your heart rate for the highest levels of reliability.
   • You can even consider arm band monitors, earphone monitors, and headband monitors.
3. Make an appointment with your doctor. If you are concerned about your heart rate, the most accurate way to measure it is by letting a medical professional handle it. Make an appointment to see your doctor and tell them what symptoms you are experiencing that are causing you concern.
   • Your doctor may check your heart rate with a stethoscope in your chest, using their fingers on your wrist, or by placing a finger sensor on the tip of your finger.

Knowing When to Monitor Your Heart Rate

1. Watch for warning signs. Cardiac disease can be quite serious and alarming, which is why it is important to monitor your symptoms closely. If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your doctor or emergency medical services immediately (depending on the severity):
   • Chest pain
   • Shortness of breath (for no apparent reason)
   • Back pain
   • Neck pain
   • Fluttering in your chest
   • Lightheadedness
   • Racing or unusually slow heartbeat
   • Fainting
2. Notice any irregularities. Any kind of irregularity in your heart rate or pulse is called an arrhythmia. If your heart rate speeds up for no reason, seems to skip a beat, or beats irregularly, you should contact your doctor to discuss the issue.
   • Even if your heart beats quite fast – for example, at 100 beats per minute on average – this is still fine as long as this is normal for you. What you should be concerned about is any change or irregularity in your heart rate.
   • Stress, caffeine, alcohol and some medications such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors and others can affect your heart rate.
3. Monitor your heart rate over time. Continue to monitor your heart rate over a long period of time so that you can begin to understand what is normal for you. Check your heart rate after exercising, while sleeping (with a fitness tracker), and while you are sitting/resting. Understanding how your own pulse typically functions in a variety of circumstances will help you notice anything out of the ordinary in the future.
   • You may want to consider keeping a heart rate journal so that you can document your heart rate at various times and refer back to it later.
4. Get a diagnosis from your doctor. Your doctor will be able to tell you if there is any problem with your heart. If your doctor is concerned, they may ask you to monitor your heart rate over a period of time and report back to them.
   • Your doctor may also investigate your heart health with a variety of tests like an electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram (echo), or a cardiac computerized tomography (CT) scan.
   • A doctor may ever prescribe an electronic heart monitor (Holter monitor) for you if they are concerned about your heart rate or some possible irregularities. Usually this is a portable monitor that attaches to your chest with electrodes that you will need to wear for two weeks or so, while your doctor monitors your results.

Related Articles

• Check Your Pulse
• Calculate Your Heart Rate
• Take Your Own Pulse With a Stethoscope
• Calculate Your Target Heart Rate

Sources and Citations

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