Information about Heart Rate
What is Heart Rate (HR)?
A Heart Rate is the number of times that your heart beats in one minute. Along with Blood Pressure, it is one of the most common measures of the heart's health. Taking your pulse is the simplest way to count the number of beats your heart makes in a minute.
A normal pulse is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. If it beats faster than this, it is working harder to pump blood to your body. If it beats slower than this, it may not be pumping enough blood to your body.
The pulse rate can vary due to a wide number of body factors, such as age, level of fitness, medical conditions, etc. The pulse can also be elevated by external factors such as caffeine, stimulants, nicotine, alcohol, stress, or fever.
If your heart rate/pulse is slower than 60 beats per minute, or faster than 100 beats per minute and you have chest, shoulder, back, or arm pain; feel short of breath, dizzy, or light headed; or have blurred vision, nausea, headache, or fatigue, have someone take you to an emergency room now or call 911. This could be very serious.