IB Biology Topic B3.2 Transport Revision Notes (SL/HL)

Your Pulse Is a Direct Measure of Your Heart Rate

Every heartbeat sends a surge of blood through your arteries, creating a pressure wave that travels along the vessel walls.
Where arteries run close to the skin, such as the wrist or neck, you can feel this wave as a pulse.
Each pulse matches one heartbeat, so counting your pulse is a direct way to find your heart rate.

Definition

Pulse

A pulse is the pressure wave created by each heartbeat as blood travels through arteries near the skin’s surface.

Radial pulse (wrist): use the radial artery on the thumb side of your wrist.
1. Place two or three fingertips, not your thumb, lightly on the underside of your wrist just below the base of your thumb.
2. Press gently until you feel the rhythmic beats.
3. Count the beats for 30 seconds and multiply by two for beats per minute, or count a full minute for greater accuracy.

Every heartbeat sends a surge of blood through your arteries, creating a pressure wave that travels along the vessel walls.
Where arteries run close to the skin, such as the wrist or neck, you can feel this wave as a pulse.
Each pulse matches one heartbeat, so counting your pulse is a direct way to find your heart rate.

Definition

Pulse

A pulse is the pressure wave created by each heartbeat as blood travels through arteries near the skin’s surface.

Radial pulse (wrist): use the radial artery on the thumb side of your wrist.
1. Place two or three fingertips, not your thumb, lightly on the underside of your wrist just below the base of your thumb.
2. Press gently until you feel the rhythmic beats.
3. Count the beats for 30 seconds and multiply by two for beats per minute, or count a full minute for greater accuracy.