The assessment of pulse is an art form. Grading the strength and speed of a patient's heartbeat can be challenging. It's not always easy to determine which number corresponds with what, but there are some general guidelines that will help you out.
The first thing to do is assess how fast their heart rate is going, taking into account any outside factors like exercise or caffeine intake. If it's over 100 BPM then that would be considered tachycardia (or abnormally high). Once you've determined whether they have tachycardia or not, go on to check for systolic blood pressure- if their pulse rises above 120/80 mmHg then this may indicate hypertension as well as possible arrhythmias. Posted below are the description of the pulse and how they are graded.
1+ Thready, Weak and Difficult to feel
2+ Normal and Easy to Palpate
3+ Full and Bounding Pulse
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