Pulse

Pulse: what it means and how to measure it

The pulse is a jerky vibration of the walls of blood vessels that occurs as a result of cardiac activity and depends on the release of blood from the heart into the vascular system. There are arterial, venous and capillary pulses. The greatest practical importance is the arterial pulse, which is usually felt in the area of ​​the radial artery.

In healthy people, the pulse rate corresponds to the heart rate and is 60-80 per minute. An increase in heart rate of more than 90 per minute is called tachycardia, a decrease (less than 60 per minute) is called bradycardia. In some heart diseases, the pulse rate may be lower than the heart rate - pulse deficiency.

But pulse is not just heart rate. Its characteristics can also provide a lot of information about a person’s health status. For example, a rhythmic pulse is when pulse waves follow each other at regular intervals. An irregular pulse, when pulse waves follow at irregular intervals, is called arrhythmias.

Another characteristic of the pulse is its filling, which depends mainly on the pumping capacity of the heart during the period of its contraction (systole). Pulse voltage is determined by the degree of force required to compress the artery and is related to the height of blood pressure, when increased, a certain force is required to compress the artery and stop its pulsation.

Studying many other features of the pulse gives the doctor valuable information about the patient's condition. For example, with tachycardia, which is an adaptive reaction of the circulatory system to the body’s increased needs for oxygen, the pulse rate increases, which contributes to increased blood supply to organs and tissues. However, in a trained heart, tachycardia is not the main mechanism of adaptation to physical activity. Instead of increasing the heart rate, athletes experience an increase in heart contractions, which is more preferable for the body.

Bradycardia, on the contrary, is observed in certain heart diseases, poisoning, and also as a result of the action of a number of medications.

How to measure pulse? In order to feel the pulse, the hand of the person being examined is covered with the other hand, pressing it to the bones of the wrist. The fingers of the hand that is on top are located at the level of the radial artery, which runs along the inside of the wrist. You need to press gently on the artery so as not to stop the blood flow, but hard enough to feel the pulsation.

The pulse may be measured in other arteries, such as the carotid artery, the artery in the neck, or the femoral artery, depending on which arteries are easier to palpate in a particular person.

There are also electronic heart rate devices, such as pulse oximeters, which measure both heart rate and oxygen saturation levels in the blood.

Pulse is an important indicator of a person’s health, which can provide a lot of information about the functioning of the heart and circulatory system. Regularly measuring your pulse can help identify possible problems and diseases and take timely measures to prevent them.