Patient Assessment: part 5 - Measuring Pulse
As the heart ventricles contract and blood is ejected into the aorta, a wave of pressure is initiated through the arterial system. This can be felt as pulsations wherever an artery passes near the skin and over a firm or bony surface of the body (Hinchliffe et al, 1996). Each heart contraction initiates a pulsatile wave, so the rate of these pulsations can be measured to provide a pulse rate. In healthy individuals this will equate to heart rate but this may not always be the case, for example, in patients with cardiac dysrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation.
As the heart ventricles contract and blood is ejected into the aorta, a wave of pressure is initiated through the arterial system. This can be felt as pulsations wherever an artery passes near the skin and over a firm or bony surface of the body (Hinchliffe et al, 1996). Each heart contraction initiates a pulsatile wave, so the rate of these pulsations can be measured to provide a pulse rate. In healthy individuals this will equate to heart rate but this may not always be the case, for example, in patients with cardiac dysrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation.
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