Calculate your average heart rate accurately during Atrial Fibrillation.
0Beats Per Minute (BPM)
Why Traditional Pulse Checking Fails in AFib
In Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly and out of sync with the lower chambers. This creates an "irregularly irregular" rhythm. Standard shortcuts used by many (like counting for 10 seconds and multiplying by 6) are highly inaccurate in AFib because the time between beats varies constantly.
Pro Tip: Medical professionals recommend counting the pulse for a full 60 seconds to get the most accurate average heart rate during an AFib episode.
How to Use This Calculator
Find your pulse (wrist or neck).
Use a stopwatch and count every single beat you feel for at least 30 to 60 seconds.
Enter the total number of beats and the exact number of seconds you counted.
The calculator will normalize this to a standard Beats Per Minute (BPM) reading.
Interpreting the Results
Controlled AFib: Generally between 60 and 100 BPM at rest.
Rapid Ventricular Response (RVR): A heart rate consistently over 100 BPM. This often requires medical attention.
Bradycardia in AFib: A heart rate below 60 BPM.
Real-World Example
If you count your pulse for 45 seconds and feel 75 beats, your rhythm is irregular. By entering 75 beats and 45 seconds into the calculator, you discover your average heart rate is 100 BPM. This provides a more reliable snapshot than a quick 10-second check which might have landed on a particularly fast or slow cluster of beats.
When to Seek Medical Help
This tool is for educational purposes. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, or if your heart rate is consistently very high (over 120 BPM) or very low (under 50 BPM) while at rest.
function calculateAFibHR() {
var beats = document.getElementById('beatCount').value;
var seconds = document.getElementById('timeSeconds').value;
var resultDiv = document.getElementById('afibResult');
var bpmOutput = document.getElementById('bpmOutput');
var categoryOutput = document.getElementById('categoryOutput');
if (beats > 0 && seconds > 0) {
var bpm = Math.round((beats / seconds) * 60);
bpmOutput.innerHTML = bpm;
resultDiv.style.display = 'block';
var category = "";
var color = "";
if (bpm = 60 && bpm 100 && bpm <= 120) {
category = "Tachycardia (Rapid Heart Rate)";
color = "#ef6c00";
} else {
category = "Rapid Ventricular Response (Seek Medical Advice)";
color = "#d32f2f";
}
categoryOutput.innerHTML = category;
categoryOutput.style.color = color;
bpmOutput.style.color = color;
resultDiv.scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' });
} else {
alert("Please enter valid numbers for both beats and seconds.");
}
}