The contractions of the heart help the heart to pump deoxygenated blood to your lungs for oxygenation and the oxygenated blood via the aorta to the different organs of the body Studies have shown that a lower heart resting rate reveals better cardiovascular function On the other hand a faster heartbeat indicates incomplete filling of the chambers of the heart and poor cardiac output Trained athletes have comparatively lower heart rates as they undergo regular cardiac training and exercise and have a healthy body and good cardiac output You can measure your heartbeat by simply measuring your pulse on your wrist You can do this by holding your index finger and thumb between the bone and tendon on your radial artery You can count the number of beats for 15 seconds and multiply it by 4 to get the beats per minute Conditions such as Tachycardia when the heartbeat is too fast and bradycardia when the heartbeat is too slow may happen but usually several underlying factors are responsible for such conditions