1. National 4 Science Human Health Pulse

2.  Learning intentions:  What is pulse?  Where in the body can pulse be felt?  What low tech instruments can be used to measure pulse rate?  What high tech instruments can be used to measure pulse rate?  How can pulse be used as an indicator of health? Pulse

3.  Pulse is caused by the swelling of the arteries as blood is pushed through them  Animation Animation What is pulse?

4. Where in the body can pulse be felt?  There are many places that pulse can be felt as can be seen in the diagram  You only need to know three:  Neck  Wrist  Temple

5. What low tech instruments can be used to measure pulse rate?  Stopwatch and finger are low tech method of measuring pulse rate  Find pulse  Count beats for 10 seconds  Multiply by 6  Number is pulse in beats per minute

6. What high tech instruments can be used to measure pulse rate?  A pulsometer or heart rate monitor are high tech methods of measuring pulse rate

7. Measuring your pulse rate  Measure your pulse rate when sitting and when standing three times in order to calculate an average  What difference is there between the two values?  Why do you think there is this difference?

8.  Pulse rate is an indicator of health  In order to find out how healthy a person is their pulse rate is measured at rest and after exercise  The following have an effect on pulse rate and therefore health:  Body size  Age  Gender  Fitness Pulse rate as indicator of health

9.  Body size  As body size increases pulse rate increases because heart is working harder  Age  Pulse rate is lower in adults than in children as they are less active  Gender  Pulse rate is slightly higher in women than men  Fitness  As a person increases in fitness their pulse rate decreases because their heart muscle is bigger therefore more effective at pumping blood around the body  A very high pulse rate will eventually lead to heart disease How do the factors affect pulse rate?