Our hearts are pumping at a regular rate. This pumping can be felt by placing fingers across the pulse point at the wrist or the neck, and the rate can be counted. An adult’s heart rate is around 70 beats per minute, and a child’s is a bit higher. (A mouse’s is about 500 per minute, and an elephant’s 25!). Heart rate increases with exercise so that more of the oxygen carried in the blood can reach the muscles.