What should the pulse be? The Importance of a Healthy Pulse Value

Pulse is an important vital sign that shows how many times the heart beats in a minute. The pressure change in the vessel walls as the heart pumps blood to the body is felt as a pulse. Pulse rate; It may vary depending on many factors such as age, physical activity, stress, excitement, some medications used and general health condition.

Monitoring the resting pulse rate, in particular, can help to get a general idea about the heart and circulatory system. However, a normal or abnormal pulse value alone is not sufficient to diagnose any disease.

In this article, we discuss frequently asked questions such as what the pulse should be, pulse values according to age, reasons for high and low pulse, how to measure pulse and in what cases a doctor should be consulted.

What is Pulse?

Pulse is the feeling of rhythmic movements in the vessel walls as a result of the contraction of the heart and the pumping of blood into the vessels. Every time the heart beats, blood is sent into the circulation, and this movement can be felt through the arteries at certain points.

The pulse can most easily be measured from the vein on the thumb side of the wrist or from the jugular vein on the side of the neck. Pulse rate is usually expressed as heart beats per minute, that is, bpm (beats per minute).

Pulse can provide information not only about how fast the heart is beating, but also whether the heartbeat is regular. Therefore, not only the number but also whether the rhythm is regular or not should be taken into consideration during measurement.

What should the pulse be?

The normal resting heart rate in adults is usually between 60-100 beats per minute. However, the person's age, physical condition, medications used and general health condition may cause this value to vary from person to person.

A resting pulse below 60 beats may also be observed in people who do sports regularly. Especially in people who are interested in endurance sports, lower pulse values ​​may be normal due to the more efficient functioning of the heart.

For this reason, it is not right to accept a single pulse value as absolutely normal or abnormal for everyone. When evaluating the pulse, the person's normal value, the conditions under which the measurement was made, and accompanying symptoms should be evaluated together.

What should be the pulse according to age?

Pulse values may vary depending on age. Especially in children, the heart rate may be higher than in adults. Pulse ranges considered normal in infancy and childhood vary depending on age and measurement conditions.

In adults, the resting heart rate is usually in the range of 60-100 beats per minute. As age progresses, the person's general health condition, medications used, and existing diseases related to the cardiovascular system may become more important in evaluating the pulse.

Therefore, when evaluating pulse according to age, the general clinical condition of the person should be taken into account instead of focusing only on a specific number.

Why is Resting Heart Rate Important?

Resting heart rate indicates how fast the heart beats when the body is not under physical activity or intense stress.

Heart rate measured after waking up in the morning, before getting out of bed, or after resting for a few minutes can be used to evaluate a person's resting heart rate.

Noticing a significant and permanent change in the person's regular resting pulse from its normal value may be important in evaluating the health status.

For example, the pulse rate, which normally remains within a certain range, constantly increases without any reason; It may be related to stress, infection, dehydration, anemia, thyroid problems or some heart rhythm-related conditions.

What is High Pulse?

A resting pulse rate above 100 beats per minute is called tachycardia. However, a high pulse rate in a single measurement does not always mean that there is a disease.

Heart rate may temporarily increase in situations such as exercise, excitement, stress, fear, fever, pain and caffeine consumption.

However, if the pulse is consistently high at rest or is accompanied by symptoms such as palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting, evaluation may be necessary.

Why Does the Pulse Increase?

Conditions that may cause an increased heart rate include:

• Exercise and intense physical activity
• Stress, excitement or anxiety
• Fever and infections
• fluid loss
• Excessive caffeine consumption
• some medications
• anemia
• Overactivity of the thyroid gland
• heart rhythm disorders
• Some heart and circulatory system diseases

To evaluate the cause of high pulse rate, it is important under what conditions the measurement was made and whether there are other symptoms.

What is Low Pulse?

A resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute is called bradycardia. However, a low pulse does not always mean a health problem.

Especially in people who exercise regularly and are in high physical condition, the resting pulse may be low because the heart works more efficiently.

However, if symptoms such as dizziness, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, fainting or change in consciousness occur along with a low pulse, the underlying cause should be evaluated.

Why Does the Heart Rate Drop?

Some situations that may cause a low pulse are:

• Regular and intense physical activity
• Some heart rhythm and conduction problems
• Use of certain medications
• Slow functioning of the thyroid gland
• electrolyte imbalances
• Age-related changes in the cardiac conduction system
• Some heart diseases

A doctor's evaluation is important, especially if there is a significant decrease in previously normal pulse values and this is accompanied by various symptoms.

How to Measure Pulse?

Pulse can be measured at home with simple methods. Resting for a few minutes before measuring may help obtain a more accurate result.

To measure wrist pulse:

1. Place your index and middle fingers in the wrist area under your thumb.
2. Press gently until you feel pulsations.
3. Count heartbeats for one minute.
4. The number you get is your heart rate per minute.

During pulse measurement, it can also be observed whether the rhythm is regular or not. Smartwatches and other wearable devices can also track heart rate; However, the values ​​obtained from these devices do not replace medical evaluation.

What Affects Pulse Value?

Heart rate may change during the day depending on different conditions. It is not expected that the same person's pulse measured while resting in the morning will be the same as the pulse measured after exercise.

Some of the factors that can affect heart rate include:

• physical activity
• Stress and emotional state
• sleep
• body temperature
• fire
• fluid consumption
• Caffeine and some stimulants
• Medicines used
• Age
• physical condition
• pregnancy
• some health problems

Therefore, the conditions of measurement must be taken into account when evaluating the pulse.

Are Pulse and Heart Rate the Same Thing?

Pulse and heart rate are closely related but are not technically the same concept.

Heart rate refers to the number of times the heart beats in one minute. Pulse is measured by feeling the beats created by the blood pumped by the heart in the vessels.

In a healthy person, these two values are usually close to each other. However, in some heart rhythm disorders, not every beat of the heart may be felt in the same way in the vessels. In this case, there may be a difference between the heart rate and the measured pulse.

When is Heart Rate Dangerous?

Just because the pulse rate goes above or below a certain number does not necessarily mean that there is an urgent problem. What really matters is how long the pulse change lasts, how different it is from the person's normal value, and whether it is accompanied by other symptoms.

Unexplained and persistently high or low pulse values at rest may require medical evaluation.

Medical evaluation should be sought without delay, especially if there are symptoms such as chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, altered consciousness, severe dizziness, or significant arrhythmia.

What Does Heart Rate Tracking Say About Heart Health?

Pulse monitoring is a simple monitoring method that gives an idea about the heart and circulatory system. In particular, knowing one's own normal pulse value can make it easier to notice changes that occur over time.

However, having a normal pulse rate does not mean that your heart health is completely good, and being high or low alone does not diagnose a particular disease.

In evaluating heart health, the person's complaints, medical history, physical examination and, when necessary, ECG, blood tests or other examinations are evaluated together.

Get Expert Support for Your Heart Health with Happ Health

With the "Health Everywhere, For Everyone, Always" approach, we believe that it is important to monitor heart health regularly and not to neglect any unusual changes.

If you notice that your resting pulse is higher or lower than normal, experience palpitations, or need an expert opinion on issues you are curious about about your heart health, you can benefit from the online doctor service via Happ Health. Online Doctor You can reach specialist physicians through the service to evaluate your complaints and receive professional health support for your needs.

It is important to make an evaluation with accompanying symptoms, especially in case of recurrent or unexplained pulse changes. The specialist physician evaluates your complaints and health history and may direct you for ECG, cardiology evaluation or other tests if deemed necessary.