Pulse
The name pulse comes from the Latin word Pulsus, which means beating. As the heart contracts, blood is forced through the arteries causing them to dilate, or “beat.” All arteries have the same pulse beat, but it is usually felt in the radial artery at the wrist, where it is readily detected near the surface and can be easily compressed against the wrist bone. Only the arteries have a pulse. The veins which return blood to the heart, usually have no pulse that is noticeable.
The pulse as a mirror of the heart beating action, tells us a lot about the heart-its beat, its regularity and its force. To a minor degree the pulse also reflects the blood pressure and tells us a little about the arteries-whether they are still elastic and healthy, or whether they have become hardened, like pipes, in diseases such as arteriosclerosis.
The pulse rate which, of course, is the same as the heartbeat, varies considerably with age. While in the newborn it runs between 130 to 140 beats per minute, in adults, the pulse normally runs between 70 to 75 beats per minute. There are also variations between the sexes, with the female pulse usually beating about six times more per minute than that of the male. The pulse rate may be increased tremendously by exertion or excitement, and sometimes reaches rates up to 200 to 250 beats per minute. On the other hand, lying down, resting or sleeping, may slow down the pulse to possibly fifty beats per minute. Some people have a pulse rate of eighty, considered to be normal for their general constitution, while others have a pulse rate in the sixties, which can also be considered normal for them.
A temperature rise is usually accompanied by a rise in the pulse rate, and roughly speaking, for every degree of fever in the body, there will be an extra ten beats per minute in the pulse. Temperature elevation however, does not always accompany disease in which the pulse rate is raised. For example, some heart diseases, or over-activity of the thyroid gland, may be accompanied by a rapid pulse beat but show no temperature increase whatever.
If the pulse runs very fast or very slow, or is beating irregularly, we know that the heart is behaving in the same way. Since this may be due to a serious disease with very few other symptoms, the physician’s advice will be of great value.