Trudie Lobban MBE on the importance of taking your pulse

Trudie Lobban MBE, Founder and CEO of the Arrythmia Alliance, STARS and the AF Association
Check Your Pulse
In some people, AF can be detected with a simple pulse check. A pulse rate that is irregular or variable in strength is a strong indicator of AF.
To check your pulse:
- To assess your resting pulse rate in your wrist, sit down for five minutes beforehand. Remember that any stimulants taken before the reading will affect the rate (such as caffeine or nicotine).
- Hold your left or right hand out with your palm facing up and your elbow slightly bent.
- With your other hand, place your index and middle fingers on your wrist, at the base of your thumb. Your fingers should sit between the bone on the edge of your wrist and the stringy tendon attached to your thumb. You may need to move your fingers around a little to find the pulse. Keep firm pressure on your wrist with your fingers in order to feel your pulse.
- Once you have found your pulse, count for 30 seconds and multiply by two to get your heart rate in beats per minute.
- Feel the rhythm of the pulse and check if it is regular or irregular. Click on the audio clips (af-vte.thisinfo...) to hear what a regular and irregular pulse sound like. If your heart rhythm is irregular (e.g. over 100 beats per minute), you should count for one minute and do not multiply.
More info including references: af-vte.thisinfo...