How to check your pulse

You may be able to tell if you have a regular or irregular heart beat by checking your pulse. This is important because an irregular heart beat may be a sign you have a heart condition.

Our Senior Cardiac Nurse, Emily McGrath, shows you how to check your pulse:

Finding your pulse

The easiest places to find your pulse are:

Your wrist

1. Put one of your hands out so you’re looking at your palm.
2. Use the first finger (your index finger) and middle finger of your other hand and place the pads of these fingers on the inside of your wrist, at the base of your thumb.
3. Press lightly and feel the pulse. If you can’t feel anything press slightly harder.

How to check your pulse

Once you’ve found your pulse, continue to feel it for about 30 seconds. Check to see if it feels regular or irregular. You can work out your heart rate in beats per minute (bpm) by:

• counting the number of beats in your pulse after 60 seconds, or
• counting the beats for 6 seconds and multiplying by 10. 

If your pulse feels irregular, you should check for a full 60 seconds. If you're concerned, talk to your GP or contact our Heart Helpline.

What should you check?

Your should first check your heart rhythm

• Whether it's regular or irregular. Occasional irregularities such as missed beats are common and usually nothing to worry about, but it's still best to check this with your doctor.
• An irregular pulse could also be a sign of an arrhythmia (an abnormal heart rhythm), such as atrial fibrillation (AF). This is more likely if you are 65 or older.

You can also check your heart rate

• Most adults have a resting heart rate between 60 and 100 bpm.
• Your heart rate may be lower if you do lots of exercise, or take beta blocker medication such as bisoprolol.

Your pulse may increase during the day when doing your normal activities and when you’re exercising. It's usually checked when you’re resting, but measuring it after exercise to see how quickly it returns to normal can also help show how fit you are.

Any concerns about your heart rhythm or rate?

Talk to your GP or call to speak to one of our nurses on our Heart Helpline.

Learn more about atrial fibrillation (AF)

AF is a major cause of stroke. Want to know more?

Atrial fibrillation