You can check your heart rate by taking your pulse and counting how many times your heart beats in a minute.
Your heart rate varies depending on what you're doing – for example, it will be slower if you're sleeping and faster if you're exercising.
Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm). A normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 bpm while you’re resting. However, it will vary depending on when it’s measured and what you were doing immediately before the reading. How do I measure my heart rate? At a rate of 8 – 10 beats per minute, the blue whale’s heartbeat can be heard from over 2 miles away. In comparison to a blue whale, a dolphin’s heart has a heart rate of 35 – 45 beats per minute, and a humans heart has an average heart rate of around 60 – 80 beats per minute. Your pulse rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute. A normal resting heart rate should be 60–100 beats per minute, but it can vary from minute to minute. It can go up to 130–150 beats or higher per minute when you’re exercising – that’s normal because the body needs to pump more oxygen-rich blood around the body. Rapid heart rate could be due to a range of conditions. An adult human has about four to five quarts which the heart pumps to all the tissues and to and from the lungs in about one minute while beating 75 times. 10 The heart pumps oxygenated blood through the aorta (the largest artery) at about 1 mile (1.6 km) per hour. REAL HEART BEAT from 86 BPM to 274 BPM - might be disgusting!
To get your resting heart rate, you need to have been resting for at least 5 minutes before checking your pulse.
Finding your pulse
You can find your pulse in your wrist or neck.
To find your pulse in your wrist:
- hold out one of your hands, with your palm facing upwards
- press the first (index) finger and middle finger of your other hand on the inside of your wrist, at the base of your thumb – don't use your thumb as it has its own pulse
- press your skin lightly until you can feel your pulse – if you can't find it, try pressing a little harder or move your fingers around
To find your pulse in your neck:
- press your first finger and middle finger to the side of your neck, just under your jaw and beside your windpipe – don't use your thumb
- press your skin lightly to feel your pulse – if you can't find it, try pressing a bit harder or move your fingers around
Checking your pulse
When you find your pulse, either:
- count the number of beats you feel for 60 seconds
- count the number for 30 seconds and multiply by 2
This gives you your heart rate – the number of times your heart beats per minute (bpm).
You can also check if your pulse is regular or irregular by feeling its rhythm for about 30 seconds. It's very common to have occasional irregular heartbeats, such as missed beats.
But if your pulse continues to be irregular, it can be a sign of atrial fibrillation – an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. This is more likely if you're 65 or older.
See a GP if you're worried about your pulse.
What's a normal heart rate?
Most adults have a resting heart rate between 60 and 100bpm.
The fitter you are, the lower your resting heart rate is likely to be. For example, athletes may have a resting heart rate of 40 to 60bpm, or lower.
See a GP to get checked if you think your heart rate is continuously above 120bpm or below 40bpm, although it may simply be that this is normal for you.
Visit the British Heart Foundation for more information on checking your pulse.
Exercise and your pulse
If you check your pulse during or immediately after exercise, it may give an indication of your fitness level. A heart rate monitor is also useful for recording your heart rate when resting and during exercise.
Aerobic activities such as walking, running and swimming are good types of exercise because they increase your heart and breathing rates.
Read more from the British Heart Foundation on what your heart rate should be while exercising (PDF, 200kb).
If you haven't exercised before, or haven't for some time, see our Live Well section to read about the benefits of exercise and how much exercise you should be doing.
Further information:
Page last reviewed: 22 February 2018
Next review due: 22 February 2021
The heart's electrical system
The atria and ventricles work together, alternately contracting and relaxing to pump blood through your heart. The electrical system of your heart is the power source that makes this possible.
Normal Human Heart Beat Per Minute
Your heartbeat is triggered by electrical impulses that travel down a special pathway through your heart:
What Is The Normal Human Heart Beat Per Minute
- SA node (sinoatrial node) – known as the heart’s natural pacemaker. The impulse starts in a small bundle of specialized cells located in the right atrium, called the SA node. The electrical activity spreads through the walls of the atria and causes them to contract. This forces blood into the ventricles. The SA node sets the rate and rhythm of your heartbeat. Normal heart rhythm is often called normal sinus rhythm because the SA (sinus) node fires regularly.
- AV node (atrioventricular node). The AV node is a cluster of cells in the center of the heart between the atria and ventricles, and acts like a gate that slows the electrical signal before it enters the ventricles. This delay gives the atria time to contract before the ventricles do.
- His-Purkinje Network. This pathway of fibers sends the impulse to the muscular walls of the ventricles and causes them to contract. This forces blood out of the heart to the lungs and body.
- The SA node fires another impulse and the cycle begins again.
At rest, a normal heart beats around 50 to 99 times a minute. Exercise, emotions, fever and some medications can cause your heart to beat faster, sometimes to well over 100 beats per minute.
How fast does the normal heart beat?
How fast the heart beats depends on the body's need for oxygen-rich blood. At rest, the SA node causes your heart to beat about 50 to 100 times each minute. During activity or excitement, your body needs more oxygen-rich blood; the heart rate rises to well over 100 beats per minute.
Medications and some medical conditions may affect how fast your heart-rate is at rest and with exercise.
How do you know how fast your heart is beating?
You can tell how fast your heart is beating (your heart rate) by feeling your pulse. Your heart-rate is the amount of times your heart beats in one minute.
You will need a watch with a second hand.
Place your index and middle finger of your hand on the inner wrist of the other arm, just below the base of the thumb.
You should feel a tapping or pulsing against your fingers.
Count the number of taps you feel in 10 seconds.
Multiply that number by 6 to find out your heart-rate for one minute:
Pulse in 10 seconds x 6 = __ beats per minute (your heart-rate)
When feeling your pulse, you can also tell if your heart rhythm is regular or not.
Normal Heart Beat
1. The SA node sets the rate and rhythm of your heartbeat.
2. The SA node fires an impulse. The impulse spreads through the walls of the right and left atria, causing them to contract. This forces blood into the ventricles.
3. The impulse travels to the AV node. Here, the impulse slows for a moment before going on to the ventricles.
4. The impulse travels through a pathway of fibers called the HIS-Purkinje network. This network sends the impulse into the ventricles and causes them to contract. This forces blood out of the heart to the lungs and body.
5. The SA node fires another impulse. The cycle begins again.