The point of pulses.

Can you count on your grandparents? Of course! Here's a new way; learn to count their pulse rate--how fast their heart is beating.

Your Heart--Can't Beat It

Your heart is just a small squeezing machine--all day it squeezes and squeezes, each time pushing a bit more blood through your body in veins (vanes) and arteries (ART-er-ees).

You can feel the blood moving. Just find an artery near the skin with something hard, like a bone, behind it. These spots are called pulse points.

Feeling Wristy?

One of the easiest pulse points to find is in the wrist. Practice on yourself first, then other folks, like your grandparents.

* Turn your hand palm up.

* Reach across with the two middle fingers of your other hand and press lightly just below where your thumb connects to your wrist.

* Move your fingers around until you feel a light bumping. That's your pulse!

* Use a watch with a moving second hand to count how many bumps you feel in a minute. That's your pulse rate. It should be around 80 or 90, faster if you've been running or playing.

Counting on Grandma

Now ask a friend or relative if you can take their pulse--don't worry, you can't hurt them. You'll find theirs in the same spot on their wrist, but an adult's will probably be slower than yours.

What Do You Know?

Why count a pulse? Because a person's heartbeat--fast or slow, regular or uneven can tell you if they are sick or healthy. For example, a person who has gone into shock after an accident or becoming ill will often have a very rapid pulse of 100 or 120 beats per minute. They need help right away!

Pulse points are used in other ways, too:

You can listen to a pulse point in the elbow to find a person's blood pressure.

Pulse points in the foot can tell you how healthy a person's leg arteries are.

A large pulse point in the neck is used to tell if a person's heart is beating--no pulse here? Call 9111