Normal Pulse Per Minute
- Normal Pulse Per Minute Range
- Normal Heart Per Minute
- Normal Heart Rate Women
- Normal Pulse Rate Age 75
- Normal Pulse Per Minute Health Rate
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.
- The normal pulse for healthy adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. The pulse rate may fluctuate and increase with exercise, illness, injury, and emotions. Females ages 12 and older, in general, tend to have faster heart rates than do males.
- Your resting heart rate is the heart pumping the lowest amount of blood you need because you’re not exercising. If you’re sitting or lying and you’re calm, relaxed and aren’t ill, your heart rate is normally between 60 (beats per minute) and 100 (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.
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.
Normal Pulse Per Minute Range
Aerobic activities such as walking, running and swimming are good types of exercise because they increase your heart and breathing rates.
Normal Heart Per Minute
Read more from the British Heart Foundation on what your heart rate should be while exercising (PDF, 200kb).
Normal Heart Rate Women
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.
Normal Pulse Rate Age 75
Further information:
Normal Pulse Per Minute Health Rate
Page last reviewed: 22 February 2018
Next review due: 22 February 2021