Crossword Genius

Fee payable at centre above to be determined by cardiologist (5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heart rate

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'be determined by cardiologist' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'fee payable at centre above' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'fee' could be 'rate' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'rate' is located in the answer.
'centre' could be 'heart' (synonyms) and 'heart' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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