Chapter 10-Assesess pulse Flashcards
With each heartbeat, the ________ contract.
Ventricles
What happens when the ventricles contract?
Forcefully ejects blood from the heart, propelling it into the arteries
This is the term that is used interchangeably with “heartbeat”
Pulse
The pulse is the _______ that occurs as each heartbeat causes a surge in the blood circulating through the arteries
pressure wave
The pulse is most easily felt at the pulse point where a _________ lies near the surface and can be pressed gently against a ___________
major artery
bone or solid organ
Your first consideration when taking a pulse is to _______
determine if the patient has one
To determine if a pulse is present, you will need to do what
palpate (feel) the pulse
How do you palpate a pulse ?
Hold together your index and long fingers and place your fingertips over a pulse point
Press gently against the artery
You should feel ___________ pulsations
Intermittent
In responsive patients who are older than 1 year old, palpate at what location
radial pulse at the wrist
In unresponsive patients, older than 1 year, where should you palpate
carotid pulse in the neck
When palpating the carotid pulse, place the fingertips of your index and long fingers where?
Center of the throat on the windpipe (trachea) and slide your fingers into the groove between the trachea and the neck muscle
This positions your fingertips directly over
The carotid artery
Should you ever press on the carotid arteries on both sides of the neck at the same time?
No, only gentle pressure on one side of the neck should be used
What can happen if you palpate too hard? What patients would be most affected
You occlude the blood flow, especially in a patient who has poor blood flow or is hypotensive
When palpating a pulse, which finger should you never use? why not?
Thumb; you may mistake the strong pulsing circulation in your thumb for the patient’s pulse
In infants, the ______ and ________ pulses are difficult to palpate
radial and carotid
In a child younger than 1 year, palpate at the _____
brachial pulse
Where is the brachial pulse located ?
medial area (inside) of the upper arm
With the infant lying supine, you can access the brachial pulse by
elevating the infant’s arm over the head
Because most infants have chunky chubby fat arms, you need to press your ________ fingertips
adjacent fingertips along the brachial artery which is parallel to the long axis of the upper arm
If you cannot palpate a carotid pulse in an unresponsive patient, you should then ______
begin CPR and turn on an Automated external defibrillator (AED)
An AED is indicated on patients who are _______ and _________
unresponsive and pulseless
Provide ventilations at __ to __ breaths/min for adults
and
__ to __ breaths/min for an infant or child
10 to 12 breaths/min for an adult
12 to 20 breaths/min for a child
Continue to monitor the pulse every ___ minutes to evaluate the effectiveness of your ventilations
2
In responsive patients, the absence of a palpable pulse is not caused by cardiac arrest. Therefore never begin ____ or use an ______ on a responsive patient
CPR
AED
You should be able to assess whether a pulse is ______, ______, or ________
Too slow
Too fast
Irregular
The pulse should be easily felt at the ____ or ______ artery and have regular rhythm
Radial
Carotid
If the pulse is irregular or difficult to feel, what could this indicate
The patient may have problems with his or her circulatory system that needs further evaluation
