What to do with increased heart rate with low, normal and high blood pressure? How to normalize heart rate?

A pulse of 50 is considered low (the norm is from 60 to 90) if it is detected during the day at rest in a patient who is not involved in professional sports.

Then a diagnosis of bradycardia is made, it can be congenital or occurs with heart disease (myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, heart attack), lack of thyroid hormones, increased tone of the vagus nerve (neurocirculatory dystonia, peptic ulcer), high intracranial pressure after injury, due to osteochondrosis.

If you feel normal and your pulse is 50, no treatment is required; if you have general weakness, you can increase your rhythm with a contrast shower or hot tea. If there is pain in the heart or a severe headache, and the diagnosis is unknown, medical help is needed.

Pulse 50: how to understand whether it is normal or not

If the pulse is 50 beats per minute, then this cannot be considered a normal indicator, since for effective blood supply to the body a heart rate of 60 to 90 beats per minute is needed. If 49-59 pulse waves are detected in 60 seconds, a diagnosis of bradycardia is made. It can be compensated or uncompensated.

The first reason is that the body is well trained, which occurs only during professional sports, when the heart goes into an economical operating mode. This means that with rare contractions from 40 to 52-53 at rest, cardiac output increases. That is, the strength of the heart muscle is enough to ensure blood supply to the brain and internal organs.

The second example of compensated bradycardia is congenital. With this form, the body gradually adapts to the low frequency of contractions, the reserve network of small arteries opens, and the patient’s well-being does not suffer. In all other cases, a pulse of about 50 beats cannot be considered sufficient, even if its slowdown is not associated with illness.

We recommend reading about what causes low heart rate and high blood pressure. From the article you will learn what is the normal pulse rate for hypertensive patients, what diseases lead to low pulse and high blood pressure, what can be done at home, and correction of the condition with medications.

And here is more information about how to increase your heart rate using medications and folk methods.

Causes of rapid heartbeat at night

A person may often experience heart palpitations at night. This unpleasant phenomenon is called arrhythmia and is characterized by heavy and frequent heartbeats. When such moments arise, it is important to understand that a healthy person cannot hear his own heartbeat.

Signs and causes

As a rule, night palpitations are accompanied by unpleasant heavy sensations in the chest. The heart may flutter or feel like it is about to jump out of your chest. Such symptoms are accompanied by an unpleasant pulsation in the temples, at the fingertips and even in the epigastric region. More unpleasant symptoms include: tinnitus, a feeling of tightness in the chest, and even pain in the heart area. Often, when visiting a doctor with such complaints, no serious illnesses are detected.

Patients sometimes confuse palpitations with tachycardia. Tachycardia is accompanied by a constant rapid pulse, at rest it is more than 90 beats per minute. In this state, a person does not feel it. In healthy people, the pulse varies from 60 to 80 beats per minute.

A rapid heartbeat does not always indicate illness; it can be observed in yourself for the following reasons:

1. The heart begins to pound with a sharp and rapid rise to altitude.
2. The human heart increases its rhythm during intense physical activity.
3. Strong heartbeat can occur during physical activity in hot conditions, since in this case the cause of this phenomenon is an acute lack of oxygen.
4. It is common for a person to have a rapid heartbeat under severe mental stress, for example when frightened or overexcited.
5. The heartbeat increases when using certain medications, even cold remedies.
6. Frequent consumption of products such as coffee, strong tea and some other caffeinated drinks leads to increased heart rate.
7. The heartbeat increases when the diaphragm rises, and this leads to disturbances in the digestive system.

How to help your heart?

Since this organ works in a constant mode, it is necessary to spare it and try to avoid extraneous influences. The heart needs regular medical examination, especially if signs of heart palpitations occur frequently. If it begins to beat strongly at night and a person wakes up from this, then you need to do several exercises to normalize your own condition:

1. You need to get out of bed and sit on a chair with a back, placing your feet on the floor. You need to take a slow and deep breath with your stomach, not your chest, then exhale just as slowly and draw in your stomach. This exercise should be performed calmly until the rhythm returns to normal.
2. In the same position, you need to take a deep breath, cover your nose and mouth with your fingers, and try to exhale. Since exhalation will not be possible in this state, the body will respond to this with a slight increase in blood pressure, and this helps normalize the slow heart rhythm. Next, you need to calmly exhale and breathe for a few more minutes without haste, completely concentrating on your own breathing.
3. Shock therapy will help restore the heartbeat. It consists of washing with cold water or drinking ice water. As practice shows, this method reliably restores a strong heartbeat.

If you notice similar nighttime symptoms, you need to reconsider your lifestyle and take care of your heart.

We must try to be less nervous and burden ourselves with work and worries, even if sometimes it is difficult to do.

It is necessary to take vitamins more often and pay attention to sleep, i.e. go to bed earlier and accustom yourself to a single routine. An element such as Omega-3, contained in fish and in special preventive medications that can be purchased at the pharmacy, is useful.

Often, nighttime palpitations are directly related to personal experiences and problems, so it is important to learn self-control and forget about the bad habit of thinking about bad things before going to bed. The heartbeat may become erratic due to taking any medications, so the drugs will need to be changed to an analogue, after consulting with your doctor.

When should you worry?

Frequent disruptions in the rhythm of the heart are signs of disruption of its stable functioning. You need to pay close attention to your health, especially if such cases begin to occur regularly, despite all the preventive measures taken.

If palpitations become too frequent, the situation can be considered dangerous. In this case, you cannot do without qualified help from a doctor. It is no longer enough to attribute everything to the above reasons, since things can be much more serious: vitamin deficiency, anemia, lack of calcium in the body, problems with the endocrine system and heart pathologies.

Waking up at night due to frequent heartbeats or feeling unwell after a hard day's work can be signs of tachycardia. Tachycardia is defined as an increase in heart rate of 90 beats per minute or more. A person with tachycardia feels as if his arms and legs are trembling, he is breaking into a sweat, and his whole body literally ceases to be under control. It is important to remember that repeated observation of such symptoms requires immediate examination by a cardiologist.

If such symptoms take you by surprise, you can take a number of actions to help your heart normalize its rhythm:

1. Take a few deep breaths and hold your breath for a while. Take a deep breath and use your chest muscles to push the air down. After some time, the heart rate returns to normal.
2. Apply a wet towel or something cold wrapped in cloth to the heart area. It must be remembered that the cold should not be too harsh.
3. You need to pour cool water into a basin, wet your neck with it, then keep your feet in the same water. This method is called the “immersion effect”; this is what sea animals do when they descend to depth.
4. The well-known remedy Corvalol can be used for calming purposes.
5. Finally, you need to evaluate the food in the refrigerator and remove anything that could harm your heart.

What can cause a heart rate of 50 beats per minute?

The reasons for a decrease in heart rate to 50 heart beats per minute can be:

• hereditary predisposition;
• cardiopsychoneurosis;
• playing sports or heavy physical work;
• treatment of tachycardia (fast pulse) with drugs (cardiac glycosides, beta-blockers) or performing tests (massage of the eyeballs, places of pulsation of the carotid artery);
• myocardial infarction and its consequence – cardiosclerosis;
• syndrome of weakness of the sinus node (the source of signals for contractions);
• cardiomyopathy (non-inflammatory damage to the heart muscle);
• hormonal insufficiency of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands;
• intoxication (poisoning with toxins) due to infection (influenza, viral hepatitis, typhoid fever;
• high intracranial pressure due to injury, hemorrhage, cerebral edema, meningitis;
• excess potassium, calcium in the blood;
• alkalization of the blood (metabolic alkalosis);
• cholelithiasis, peptic ulcer disease;
• drop in body temperature;
• renal failure;
• phosphorus poisoning.

Physiological (outside of illness) bradycardia is provoked by a cold climate, wearing a tight collar, and fasting. In some patients after 65 years, a rare pulse is found even in the absence of severe heart damage; such changes are considered as a process of aging of the body.

In a calm state

The resting heart rate always slows down, and it can normally be around 50 beats per minute in athletes, but during physical activity it increases quickly and slows down immediately after it is finished. These characteristics reflect the well-trained body.

At night, in a dream

Normally, the heart rate slows down during sleep, so the pulse at night is always 8-9% less than during the day. It can decrease more significantly with high tone of the parasympathetic nervous system, the reasons include:

• skull injuries;
• infectious diseases;
• long bed rest;
• obesity;
• mental, stress overstrain;
• diseases of the digestive system (gallbladder, stomach, intestines);
• climate change.

An indirect sign of a pulse of about 50 beats per minute at night is drowsiness and lack of a feeling of rest at night.

In the morning

Low heart rate in the morning most often has a hormonal cause and occurs with reduced function of the adrenal glands and a lack of thyroid hormones. A slow increase in heart rate is also characteristic of conduction disorders in the heart muscle. This may be the consequences of previous inflammation (myocarditis), a heart attack, or the use of drugs in the evening to lower the heart rate.

For high blood pressure

For patients with high blood pressure due to hypertension, a decrease in pulse rate is not typical; a rare rhythm of contractions may be associated with the following concomitant diseases:

• hypothyroidism (low thyroid function);
• high intracranial pressure after infection, injury, due to impaired blood outflow from the cranial cavity (for example, with a tumor, osteochondrosis);
• cardiosclerosis;
• infectious diseases.

Often, a slowing of the pulse is associated with the use of drugs to lower blood pressure, especially from the group of beta-blockers (Betaloc, Nebival), calcium antagonists (Diltiazem, Verapamil). Low pulse and high blood pressure occur when the heart muscle is damaged - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

At normal pressure

Pulse 50 and normal blood pressure can occur during sports, climate change, atmospheric pressure, or hypothermia. They are typical for:

• recovery from infections, anesthesia, traumatic brain injury;
• metabolic disorders in the heart muscle during diabetes, menopause, lack of minerals and vitamins in the diet;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia.

A slow pulse and blood pressure within the normal range are often typical for the treatment of hypertension with drugs.

Pulse up to 50 and low blood pressure

A drop in blood pressure and pulse rate below normal occurs when:

• angina pectoris with a progressive course, heart attack;
• sick sinus syndrome;
• vascular collapse;
• severe infection;
• blockage of a pulmonary artery by a thrombus.

Day and night pulse

Day and night heart rates are quite different. This is due to greater human activity during the daytime.

The average normal heart rate of an adult is considered to be 70-80 beats/minute, and a short increase to 180 beats does not cause concern, considering this as a physiological norm, provided that this increase is caused by a surge of emotions or physical work activity. If the reading is higher than this value, it is tachycardia. It can change in different physiological states and this is normal, for example:

• after drinking alcohol, coffee, food, certain groups of medications;
• during intensive physical training and work activity;
• with different emotional colors (fear, anxiety, joy, worry);
• increased temperature of the external environment and the body itself affects the heart rate.

More on the topic: How to get sound and deep sleep

At night, the pulse can slow down by 1.5 times from the daytime rate, and its lowest parameter is recorded around 4 am. This is facilitated by the vagus nerve, which inhibits cardiac work at this time, which reduces the pulse to 30 beats/min. This explains the increased risk of complications of the cardiovascular system and heart attacks in this time period (4-6 am).

It is important to know that a person’s normal pulse, measured on the right and left hands, must necessarily coincide. If this is not the case, then there is a circulatory disorder in the limb.

Why does a woman have a pulse rate of 54 beats per minute?

There is no clear division of the causes of decreased pulse in patients by age and gender, but most often in women with a pulse of 54 they find:

• changes in the balance of sex hormones (after childbirth, in early pregnancy, during menopause);
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• low thyroid function due to a lack of iodine in the diet or after previous autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

What causes a pulse of 48-50 beats in children?

Children may have a pulse of 48-50 beats after 2 years of regular exercise; a rare rhythm is sometimes found in premature newborns. Bradycardia in a child may be one of the symptoms of the disease:

• infectious (for example, mumps);
• heart disease;
• inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis more often against the background of rheumatism);
• insufficient function of the kidneys, adrenal glands, pituitary gland (brain gland), thyroid gland;
• vegetative crisis (vagoinsular) with a decrease in body temperature and pressure;
• diabetes mellitus;
• poisoning

In children, a slow heart rate provokes an attack of coughing, vomiting, and surgery on the neck and eyes.

Watch this video about the causes of bradycardia in children:

Reasons for men

Up to 40 years of age, a heart rate of about 50 beats in a healthy man can be associated with good physical fitness, and in untrained men - with bad habits (drinking alcohol, smoking, drug addiction).

For older people, vascular diseases of the heart and brain and occupational diseases (working with varnishes, organophosphate fertilizers, oil) come to the fore. Provoking factors include hypothermia, wearing tight collars and ties.

During pregnancy

During pregnancy in the early stages, a low pulse rate most often occurs with an increase in the level of female sex hormones. Bradycardia can be combined with low blood pressure and be one of the signs of toxicosis. As you adapt to the new hormonal background, the rhythm normalizes. The appearance of a rare frequency of heart rate contractions in the late stages is dangerous, as there may be a threat of increased intracranial pressure and the development of preeclampsia.

Infections with bradycardia

The penetration of microbial toxins into the blood causes a slowing of the pulse, so bradycardia can be accompanied by severe infectious diseases, this is especially typical for:

• diphtheria,
• typhoid fever,
• blood poisoning (sepsis),
• viral hepatitis.

Heart disease with low pulse

The reasons for the slowing of the pulse rate are rare contractions due to the weakness of the sinus node, which produces impulses, and poor conductivity of the heart muscle. Diseases that can occur with a pulse of about 50 beats per minute:

• consequences of heart attack, myocarditis;
• senile amyloidosis (deposits of abnormal amyloid protein);
• angina pectoris, acute infarction of the right coronary artery;
• cardiomyopathy;
• pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardial sac).

Hypothyroidism

When there is a lack of thyroid hormones, the heart does not receive sufficient stimulation, which leads to a slower rate of contractions and pulse beats. The causes of hormonal deficiency include iodine deficiency and autoimmune thyroiditis.

It is important to consider that a slow pulse is almost the only sign of an asymptomatic disease. Nonspecific symptoms of hypothyroidism include constant fatigue, constipation, drowsiness, and poor cold tolerance.

Watch this video about diseases leading to bradycardia:

What can affect heart rate during sleep?

It is believed that most causes of increased heart rate during sleep are temporary, and high heart rates will decrease on their own. But sometimes problems are associated with deteriorating health, which requires immediate consultation with a doctor. Among the main reasons:

• high blood pressure;
• ischemia;
• pericarditis;
• violation of the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels;
• atherosclerosis;
• pathology of heart valves;
• hyperfunction of the thyroid gland;
• slowing down metabolic processes in the body;
• emphysema.

Diseases require immediate medical intervention and appropriate treatment.

A temporary disturbance in heart rhythm is observed in the presence of several factors:

• taking psychostimulants;
• smoking;
• large fatty foods at night;
• presence of stressful life situations,
• fever;
• dehydration;
• toxicosis.

After eliminating the causes, the heart rate returns to normal. In addition to the above factors, the reason for increased heart rate during sleep may be a woman’s pregnancy.

Pulse 45 - is it normal or not, should you call a doctor?

A pulse of about 45 beats per minute is normal only for professional athletes and with a congenital slowing of the rhythm. Against the background of heart disease or non-cardiac diseases, symptoms of insufficient nutrition of the myocardium and brain occur:

• severe weakness
• dizziness,
• pain in the heart area,
• darkening of the eyes.

If, with a low pulse, there is squeezing pain behind the sternum, there is lethargy, fainting or loss of orientation in time and space, or a severe headache, then you should immediately call an ambulance.

How to measure pulsation correctly

To ensure that your heart rate readings during sleep are as accurate as possible, you need to follow simple rules:

• take measurements during deep sleep;
• make sure the person is relaxed;
• make sure he doesn't have disturbing dreams.

Measurements are carried out manually or using instruments (tonometer, bracelet).

How dangerous is a pulse of 50-52?

If a pulse of 50-52 beats per minute is not accompanied by deterioration in health, then this is not dangerous. If it drops to lower values, or the patient has vascular diseases, then this leads to insufficient nutrition of the internal organs (especially the myocardium, kidneys, liver), and the brain. Symptoms of ineffective blood flow include:

• constant fatigue;
• depressed mood;
• reduced performance;
• pre-fainting (darkness in the eyes, dizziness, nausea) during physical exertion;
• unsteadiness when walking, weakness in the legs;
• memory impairment, difficulty concentrating, absent-mindedness;
• inappropriate behavior with loss of spatial orientation.

A rare pulse, accompanied by attacks of loss of consciousness, is especially dangerous. It can appear with a sudden movement of the head or compression of the neck with a tight collar. An unfavorable course of bradycardia also occurs in post-infarction cardiosclerosis, when the ability to conduct impulses is lost due to the formation of scar tissue in the myocardium. Then there is a risk of cardiac arrest.

If your heart rate is 50 beats per minute, what to do at home

If your heart rate is 50 beats per minute and your health is satisfactory, then at home you can:

• take a contrast shower;
• do breathing exercises;
• drink hot tea with honey and lemon;
• eat 2-3 slices of dark chocolate;
• mix cinnamon on the tip of a knife with a teaspoon of honey and wash down the mixture with a glass of water.

For low or normal blood pressure, you can take 15-20 drops of Eleutherococcus or ginseng tincture. If your heart rate is low and there is no change in your general condition, it is enough to go for a walk or take a warm shower and vigorously rub your palms and feet. If there is severe weakness, darkening of the eyes, then it is necessary:

• call a doctor;
• place the patient on a bed with a low pillow;
• provide a flow of fresh air.

Heart rate 49-57 beats per minute: what the doctor will prescribe

With a slight decrease in pulse, when the heart rate (HR) is from 49 to 57 beats per minute and there are no complaints, no treatment is required. The doctor prescribes an examination and, if the test results and ECG are normal, recommends moderate physical activity and a nutritious diet.

If you have heart disease, then use the following medications:

• to improve myocardial nutrition (Mexicor, Preductal);
• vitamin complexes (Energotonic Doppelherz, Combilipen);
• metabolism stimulants (Riboxin, L-carnitine).

During an attack of loss of consciousness, drugs are administered to urgently increase heart rate - Adrenaline, Dopamine, Atropine. Further treatment is carried out only under the supervision of an ECG and blood pressure indicators; it depends on the detected changes in the heart muscle. If necessary, the patient may be recommended to have a pacemaker installed.

Men, women, athletes

Heart rate (heart rate) is influenced by indicators such as gender and age, physical fitness, a person’s occupation, the environment in which he lives, and much more. In general, differences in heart rate can be explained as follows:

• Men and women react to different events to varying degrees (most men are more cold-blooded, women are mostly emotional and sensitive), so the heart rate of the weaker sex is higher. Meanwhile, the pulse rate in women differs very little from that in men, although, if we take into account the difference of 6-8 beats/min, then males lag behind, their pulse is lower.

• Out of competition are pregnant women , whose slightly elevated heart rate is considered normal and this is understandable, because while carrying a child, the mother’s body must fully meet the need for oxygen and nutrients for herself and the growing fetus. The respiratory organs, circulatory system, and heart muscle undergo certain changes to perform this task, so the heart rate increases moderately. A slightly elevated heart rate in a pregnant woman is considered normal if, besides pregnancy, there is no other reason for its increase.
• A relatively rare pulse (somewhere near the lower limit) is observed in people who do not forget about daily physical exercise and jogging, who prefer active recreation (swimming pool, volleyball, tennis, etc.), in general, who lead a very healthy lifestyle and take care behind your figure. They say about such people: “They are in good sports shape,” even if by the nature of their activity these people are far from professional sports. A pulse of 55 beats per minute at rest is considered normal for this category of adults, their heart simply works economically, but in an untrained person this frequency is regarded as bradycardia and serves as a reason for additional examination by a cardiologist.
• The heart works even more economically in skiers, cyclists, runners, rowers and adherents of other sports that require special endurance; their resting heart rate can be 45-50 beats per minute. However, prolonged intense stress on the heart muscle leads to its thickening, expansion of the boundaries of the heart, and an increase in its mass, because the heart is constantly trying to adapt, but its capabilities, unfortunately, are not limitless. A heart rate of less than 40 beats is regarded as a pathological condition; ultimately, the so-called “athletic heart” develops, which often becomes the cause of death in young healthy people.

The heart rate depends somewhat on height and constitution: in tall people, the heart under normal conditions works slower than in short relatives.

What you should not do on your own if you have bradycardia of 50 beats per minute

In case of bradycardia with a heart rate of 50 beats per minute for an unknown reason and a general serious condition, it is strictly prohibited to try to independently increase the pulse using medications or non-drug methods. Excessive stimulation of the heart during a heart attack leads to the spread of its zone and can cause cardiac arrest.

If you do not immediately call an ambulance in case of loss of consciousness, then a lack of brain nutrition leads to a stroke.

Watch this video about what bradycardia is, its treatment and consequences:

Why does it become more frequent?

During sleep, when the brain is active, people often see colorful dreams. These can be either good dreams or nightmares. It is because of them that the heart rate increases. There is probably no person who has not at least once woke up in a cold sweat with a rapid heartbeat. It happens that because of nightmares, a person is thrown out of sleep when falling asleep, and at the same time his pulse increases.

Seeing this kind of dream can increase not only your pulse, but also your blood pressure. By waking up and lying down for a few minutes, trying to relax, you can reduce your heart rate to normal. A high pulse during sleep in an adult indicates that either you had some kind of vivid dream and your brain began to work actively, or you have diseases of the cardiovascular system, and even in sleep the heart does not slow down, but works actively .

Heart rate may also increase at night due to the following reasons:

• dysfunction of the thyroid gland;
• anemia;
• nervous emotional state for a long time;
• poisoning;
• heart failure;
• internal bleeding;
• dehydration.

When a person suffers from colds or infectious diseases, his body temperature rises. This is the body’s protective reaction to an external aggressor – microbes. By increasing body temperature, the body tries to destroy viruses and microbes, and in this condition the pulse will increase during sleep. A high heart rate at night often leads to insomnia, since it is quite difficult to fall asleep with a strong heartbeat.

Both adults and children often experience a high heart rate in the morning after sleep. But a little time passes - 10-15 minutes, and the pulse rhythm begins to return to its normal norm. This condition is considered quite common in a healthy person. The body wakes up, and gradually all systems begin to work. Jumping right out of bed puts a sharp strain on the heart, so doctors recommend lying down for 10 minutes after waking up to normalize your heart rate after sleep.

The heart is a muscle like all the others in the body, and it simply needs constant moderate physical activity. Light exercise in the morning will keep the heart muscle toned and normalize its rhythm.

An increased heart rate after sleep indicates that either the person had a restless sleep due to nervous experiences, or it is worth checking their cardiovascular system with a cardiologist. To lower your heart rate, it is recommended to lie quietly for a few minutes and try not to think about the bad and the things of the next day.

Diagnostic rules

To correctly determine the pulse rate, count the beats on the artery of the wrist (at the base of the thumb on the inside) or on the carotid artery. You can use this method yourself, or you can also measure your heart rate with a tonometer or fitness bracelet.

In the hospital

An ECG is used to accurately determine the pulse rate and simultaneously identify the form of heart rhythm disturbance (weakness of the sinus node, blockade of impulse conduction). She may not immediately detect the disease, then 24-hour Holter monitoring is prescribed, that is, heart contractions are recorded for 24 hours during the patient’s normal activity. Stress tests with a load on a bicycle ergometer, sometimes with drugs, are also indicated.

Self-measurement during the day

To measure your heart rate yourself you need:

• choose a time around 12 noon;
• remain at rest for at least 10 minutes;
• take food, drinks, water procedures no later than 30 minutes, you cannot smoke an hour before measurement;
• sit on a chair, chair with back support;
• find the pulsation point;
• turn on the stopwatch for 60 seconds and count the pulse beats.

How to calculate heart rate at night

It is best to measure heart rate at night using a fitness bracelet. There are models that count the pulse themselves and enter it into memory. If there is no such function, then you will need the help of a loved one, but these methods are usually insufficiently accurate. The most objective is daily ECG recording; it is needed for heart diseases with complex rhythm disturbances.

Measurement in children

Counting the pulse in children is no different from adults; it can be easily felt on the artery of the wrist, temporal. For infants, you can use a phonendoscope to listen to the heart or even count by placing your ear to the chest.

Determination of pulse characteristics

In addition to frequency, other pulse characteristics are also important for diagnosis:

• filling - reflects the volume of circulating blood, it can be full with good blood circulation and empty with dehydration or bleeding;
• tension - changes due to the properties of the arterial wall; at high pressure the pulse is intense, and at low pressure it is soft;
• rhythmicity - normally there are equal intervals between beats; with an irregular pulse, the waves can be of different strengths; in children and adolescents, when inhaling and exhaling, the frequency may change slightly;
• height - in athletes the pulse wave is high, clearly perceptible, since the contractions occur with sufficient force, and when the arteries are blocked, the pulsation is weak, a thread-like pulse is characteristic of fainting, mitral heart defects.

These characteristics are determined by the physician, since good diagnostic experience is necessary to understand the properties of the pulse wave.

Rules for measuring pulse

The most reliable result can be obtained in the morning, 2 hours after waking up. It is desirable for the person to be in a horizontal position, but if this is not possible, measurements are allowed in a sitting position, which should be as comfortable as possible.

Wrist heart rate measurement:

• The first step is to free your hand from pressure, remove clothes, watches, etc. that restrict movement, so that blood can circulate freely. The hand should lie on a hard surface at the same level as the heart;
• Prepare a watch with a second hand or a stopwatch;
• Simultaneously place three fingers (index, middle and ring) on ​​the inside of the wrist - this is where the radial artery is located. Press it a little and wait until you feel a pulsation;
• It is better to measure a minute, but 30 seconds is possible, then the result should be multiplied by 2, or 15 seconds and the resulting figure multiplied by 4. If a person has arrhythmia, it is better not to shorten the count, as you may get an unreliable result.

Neck heart rate measurement:

• If it is not possible to measure the pulse at the wrist (which can happen if you lose consciousness), it is checked in the neck, where the carotid artery is located. For this, the patient is laid down or seated comfortably;
• Place 2 fingers on the Adam's apple, the so-called Adam's apple, and move them to the side towards the adjacent muscle;
• Without squeezing the artery, place your fingers in the place where the pulsation is felt most strongly;
• Take a measurement.

You cannot measure your pulse after:

• physical or emotional stress;
• bathing;
• massage;
• physiotherapy;
• overeating or vice versa - on an empty stomach.

Prevention of bradycardia

In order to prevent heart rate from falling below normal, it is recommended:

• monitor your pulse daily when using medications for blood pressure and tachycardia;
• devote at least 30 minutes a day to therapeutic exercises, yoga, and walk in the fresh air for about an hour;
• The diet should contain proteins (lean fish, meat, dairy products), vitamins and microelements (fruits, berries, herbs), sources of iodine (seafood, algae, persimmon);
• If you have heart disease, undergo regular examination by a cardiologist and an ECG.

We recommend reading about how to measure your pulse. From the article you will learn why heart rate is measured, the norm of the indicator, methods of measuring heart rate with modern gadgets and devices, and self-measurement of heart rate.

And here is more information about what is the normal heart rate for pregnant women.

A pulse of 50 may be normal in athletes who have a congenital tendency to bradycardia; it occurs with diseases of the heart, nervous system, or hormonal imbalances. For treatment, you need to undergo an examination; drugs are prescribed only if low heart rate is poorly tolerated.