Finding and Recording Your Pulse...

   
1 Use your fingers when finding a pulse. Don't use your thumb when finding it, as it has its own pulse.

• Find the radial pulse. This is also known as the pulse on the inside of the wrist. Use the pads of two fingers. Place these just below the wrist creases at the base of the thumb. Press lightly until you feel a pulse (blood pulsing under your fingers). If necessary, move fingers around until you feel the pulse
• Find the carotid pulse. To feel a pulse on the side of the neck, place two fingers, preferably your index and middle finger, in the hollow between the windpipe and the large muscle in the neck. Press lightly until you feel a pulse.

2 Check and record your heart rate. Use a watch or clock with a second hand. Make a note of the rate of the pulse, which is the number of beats per minute.

• If you don't have a watch or a clock around, the Cleveland Clinic Health System recommends counting the beats you feel for 15 seconds and multiplying this by four to get your heart rate per minute:
  
• Your pulse is: (beats in 15 seconds) x 4 = y (your heart rate)^[1] You can count beats for 30 seconds and multiply by 2.