I went to see the doctor this morning about some stomach pain I thought might be an ulcer. When the nurse checked my heart rate, it was 48 bpm. Neither the nurse nor my doctor (who knows my med history) said anything about this. I wasn't concerned until I googled it when I got home, and now I'm having a lot of anxiety about it. Called my doctor and he said that a one time reading of 48 with no other symptoms is not troubling. Nurse said I should check my pulse tomorrow and if it's still in the 40s, call them. How much should I be freaking out right now? [more inside]
posted by The Pantless Wonder on May 16, 2012 - 17 answers

Why do we typically take our pulses at the neck or wrist as opposed to the chest or side right at the heart? At least from my n = 1 self-observations, it's both an order of magnitude stronger and easier to find if you just stick your hand on your chest and count off that instead of trying to find the right spot on the neck or wrist. [more inside]
posted by floam on May 25, 2010 - 11 answers

Yesterday on "CBS Sunday Morning," a correspondent chronicled his attempt to lose weight. I'm trying to identify one of the machines that his personal trainer used to evaluate his progress. [more inside]
posted by Saucy Intruder on Jan 9, 2006 - 12 answers

Target Heart Rate. What damage are you doing, if any, by working out above your so-called Target Heart Rate? [mi] [more inside]
posted by Lola_G on Jan 20, 2005 - 16 answers