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The pulse is the rate at which the heart beats while pumping blood through the arteries, recorded as beats per minute (bpm). [11] It may also be called "heart rate". In addition to providing the heart rate, the pulse should also be evaluated for strength and obvious rhythm abnormalities. [11] The pulse is commonly taken at the wrist (radial ...
In medicine, the pulse is the rhythmic throbbing of each artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). [1] The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck (carotid artery), wrist (radial artery or ulnar artery), at the groin (femoral artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), near the ankle joint ...
A pulse oximeter probe applied to a person's finger. A pulse oximeter is a medical device that indirectly monitors the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood (as opposed to measuring oxygen saturation directly through a blood sample) and changes in blood volume in the skin, producing a photoplethysmogram that may be further processed into other measurements. [4]
Pulse pressure is calculated as the difference between the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure. [3] [4]The systemic pulse pressure is approximately proportional to stroke volume, or the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle during systole (pump action) and inversely proportional to the compliance (similar to elasticity) of the aorta.
The thumb should not be used for measuring another person's heart rate, as its strong pulse may interfere with the correct perception of the target pulse. [citation needed] The radial artery is the easiest to use to check the heart rate. However, in emergency situations the most reliable arteries to measure heart rate are carotid arteries.
This short sharp change in pressure is rapidly attenuated down the arterial tree. The pulse wave form is also reflected from branches in the arterial tree and gives rise to a dicrotic notch in main arteries. The summation of the reflected pulse wave and the systolic wave may increase pulse pressure and help tissue perfusion.
As a result, during the next cycle of systolic phase, the myocardial muscle will be stretched more than usual and as a result there will be an increase in myocardial contraction, related to the Frank–Starling physiology of the heart. This results, in turn, in a stronger systolic pulse.
The physical examination to diagnose cardiac arrest focuses on the absence of a pulse. [30] In many cases, lack of a central pulse (carotid arteries or subclavian arteries) is the gold standard. Lack of a pulse in the periphery (radial/pedal) may also result from other conditions (e.g. shock) or be the rescuer's misinterpretation.