Life saver in a heartbeat

A patient gets his pulse checked

People of all ages are being urged to look out for the symptoms of an irregular heartbeat.

An arrhythmia, a condition where the heart’s normal electrical cycle has been disturbed, is usually found in older people but some people may have been born with a condition that could lead to an arrhythmia.

Emma Cotterill, staff nurse at Rochdale Infirmary’s Coronary Care Unit, was inundated by hospital staff and visitors when she held a pulse check clinic at the Infirmary on Wednesday 10 June as part of Arrhythmia Awareness Week at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

She said: “The day was very popular and people were down here from very early in the morning to get their pulse checked and heart rate monitored on the machine.

"An arrhythmia can be caused by a number of different types of irregular heartbeats, some don’t cause any problems but some can be very serious and life threatening. There are lots of people with arrhythmias who are just not aware of it, putting their symptoms down to tiredness.”

Nicola O’Gorman, also a staff nurse at Rochdale Infirmary, believes anyone can check their own pulse in less than five minutes to make sure they haven’t got an arrhythmia.

She said: “Simply check your pulse when you have been resting for at least five minutes. The best place to do this is by placing your three middle fingers on your wrist. A normal pulse should read between 60 and 100 beats per minute.

"Everyone is different and it is difficult to give precise guidelines, but if you do find the pulse is persistently racing, slow or jumping around, I would suggest you contact your Doctor. The risks of an arrhythmia are strokes, collapse and even death so it is important people get themselves checked.”

Anyone who wants further information can visit www.knowyourpulse.org