Checking the pulse on the wrist is a simple way to identify how many beats per minute your heart beats. This indicates how strong the heart muscle is in pumping blood throughout the body. A healthy resting heart rate is not higher than 140, according to the American Heart Association. While there are several devices that can record your heart rate for you, such as heart monitors, taking your pulse on your wrist is not difficult and is accurate.
Instructions
1. Take your resting heart rate either before you climb out of bed in the morning or after you've been sitting quietly for at least 10 minutes. Do not take your heart rate after exercising, as it is likely to be higher from the exertion.
2. Sit upright, expose your left inner wrist and place your index finger and middle finger on the inner wrist near the top edge of your arm, near the base of your thumb.
3. Notice you will feel a throbbing pulse under your fingers. If you don't, move your fingers down or up slightly to locate your pulse.
4. Avoid using your thumb to take your pulse as the thumb will often has its own pulse, which will make it difficult to record your actual heart rate pulse.
5. Keep your fingers on your inner wrist and count the number of beats for 6 seconds. Multiply that number by 10 and you have your heart rate for 60 seconds.
Tags: heart rate, your heart, inner wrist, your fingers, your heart rate, your pulse