Taking the pulse allows us to find out what the patient's heart rate is and to assess the strength, regularity, and character of the pulse... This article will cover the measurement of the pulse at the radial point (inside the wrist, see Figure 1) as this is the most common point at which to measure the pulse of eye patients... Heart rates, and therefore pulse rates (number of beats per minute) change with age and can vary between individuals of the same age... Double the number to give the beats per minute (e.g.: 32 beats in 30 seconds means the pulse is 64 beats per minute)... Record the pulse rate (the number of beats per minute) in the patient's notes and describe its strength and rhythm... Is it regular? If irregular, in what way? Cardiac problems may present as a regular missed beat, for example, so is the irregularity regular (described as regularly irregular) or is there no pattern (described as irregularly irregular)? Discuss with your patient the result of the pulse measurement and if any further investigations are required... Wash and dry your hands... Nursing and midwifery: a practical approach... Sally Huband, Pam Hamilton Brown and Gillian Barber Macmillan Education Royal Marsden Hospital Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures