Firstly, this page is intended to help you calculate and monitor your heart rate, not to diagnose or treat potentially life-threatening medical crises! Seek immediate professional medical attention if you think you may be having a heart attack, or your symptoms are serious, such as:
A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked.
If you think someone may be having a heart attack, first call 911 or your local emergency number. If the person is unconscious, check if there is a pulse. Administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if the person isn't breathing or there is no pulse.
Again this site is only for calculating heart rate. If you are having a medical crisis, please consult one of the many internet sites managed my medical professionals concerning heart attacks and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
It is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you have not been engaged in any activity for some time. It's the rate of you're heart when reading, sitting on the couch watching television, or eating a meal.
Resting heart rate contrasts with your heart rate during activity or exercise. It's important to not confuse the two measurements.
Normally you'd have to count your heart beats for an entire minute, or for 30 seconds and multiply by 2, or 15 seconds and mupltiply by 4, etc. The heart rate counter on this page will do the calculations for you and give you your average heartbeat in just a few seconds.
Measure your heart rate after you've been inactive for a significant amount of time. 15-30 minutes should be sufficient.
Many locations around the body where blood flow is palpable can serve as locations to check your pulse. Most commonly you can easily feel your pulse with your finger on the thumb side of your wrist. You can also put 2 fingers on the side of your neck, next to your windpipe.
Not everyone's pulse is the same. Heart rate varies from person to person. Tracking your own heart rate can give you valuable information about your heart health, and even more importantly, changes in your heart health.
What is deemed a healthy or unhealthy resting heart rate includes several factors, most notably, if you are male or female, and your age. The visualizer on this page will let you select your sex and age range to show you the spectrum of heart rate ranges for you.
Here is a more complete of factors that can affect your heart rate:
The "normal" resting heart rate for adults is between 60 and 100 beats per minute (BPM).
Generally speaking, the lower your resting heart rate, the more efficiently your heart is working and is an indicator of your fitness.
A long distance runner, for example, might have a resting heart rate around 40 beats per minute.
A "normal" resting heart rate is not an indication of "normal" blood pressure. Your blood pressure needs to be measured separately and directly.
This site is intended to help the average person with a casual interest in their heart rate. It is not intended as a medical diagnosis tool. It is not a professional peer-reviewed medical product. It is not intended to replace medical doctors or consultations with certified professionals. If you are having medical concerns, a medical crisis, feel sick, are having any other medical issues, please consult a licensed professional.