The number of beats per minute varies from person to person. Gender may play a role in resting heart rate. Females in one test averaged 85 beats per minute while males averaged 79.

The pulse beat you feel in your wrist or neck can vary from person to person. Measuring the brachial pulse (the beat at the inner arm) of 25 males and 25 females reveals a six-beat difference in resting rate. Females averaged 85 beats per minute while males averaged 79, suggesting that gender may affect how often the heart pumps blood at rest.

Resting heart rate differs from person to person, and gender may be one reason why. To find out, you take the brachial pulse — the pulse at the inner arm — of 25 males and 25 females. Each person sits quietly for three minutes, then you count their pulse three times at one-minute intervals and average the results. The females in one study averaged 85 beats per minute; the males averaged 79. That six-beat gap suggests gender affects how fast the heart moves blood at rest.