How to Measure Cardiac Rhythms

It is easy to measure the rhythm of your heart. This technique is approximate, but helpful when trying to take your pulse rate and measure the frequency of your heart rhythms.

Things You'll Need

• Stopwatch or watch

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Instructions

How to Measure Cardiac Rhythms

• 1

  After getting up in the morning, or after sitting for a long period of time without any stimulation, find your carotid artery. This artery pulsates with every beat of your heart. You can find it right under your jawbone on either side of your neck, about an inch back from your chin.

• 2

  Once you've located your carotid artery, hold your index and middle finger to the artery, feeling it pulsate with every beat of your heart.

• 3

  After you have become comfortable with the location of the carotid artery and feeling its movements, set the time on your stopwatch for 15 seconds, or begin timing yourself on a watch for 15 seconds. Count every pulsation of the carotid artery.

• 4

  Once you've timed yourself for 15 seconds, multiply the number of times your carotid artery pulsated by four. This number is the number of times, approximately, your heart beats per minute at rest, or in other words, without any stimulation.

• 5

  Using this number, you can determine if your heart beat is too slow, too fast, or normal. Bradycardia, or a slow heart rate, is diagnosed if you have a resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute. However, it does not automatically mean something is wrong if you have a heart rate under 60. If you exercise often, this could be an explanation. Tachycardia, or fast heart rate, is diagnosed if you have a resting heart rate of over 100 beats per minute at rest. In some cases, tachycardia is asymptomatic.