Article: Place two fingers (your index and middle fingers) on your neck in the space between your windpipe on the front and the big muscle on the side of your neck, called the sternocleidomastoid. This is your carotid artery, and it is usually the easiest place to check your heart beat. Press lightly until you feel a pulse. Alternatively, you can place two fingers on the outer part of your inner wrist, just under where your thumb and palm curve into your wrist. This is called your radial pulse, which may be fainter or more difficult to find. You can also find your pulse by placing two fingers on the side of your wrist below your pinky finger. This is called your ulnar pulse and is usually even more faint than the radial. Do not use your thumb, as you may feel a slight pulse from the finger itself. This can mess up your readings. For a normal adult, including seniors, the average resting heart rate falls somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute. If your resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats/minute, you may want to contact your doctor. If your resting heart rate is usually under 60 (and you are not a trained athlete), you should consider consulting with your doctor especially if you ever feel faint, dizzy, or short of breath. For children under the age of ten, the average heart rate is around 75-115 beats per minute.
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Find your pulse. Analyze the results.