Collapsing pulse
Collapsing pulse | |
---|---|
Other names | Corrigan's pulse |
Differential diagnosis | aortic regurgitation |
Watson's water hammer pulse, also known as Corrigan's pulse or collapsing pulse, is the medical
This is associated with increased
Diagnosis
To feel a water hammer pulse: with the patient reclining, the examiner raises the patient's arm vertically upwards. The examiner grasps the muscular part of the patient's forearm. A water hammer pulse is felt as a tapping impulse that is transmitted through the bulk of the muscles. This happens because the blood that is pumped to the arm during systole is emptied very quickly due to the gravity effect on the raised arm. This results in the artery emptying back into the heart during diastole, increasing
Causes
Water hammer pulse is commonly found when a patient has aortic regurgitation. It can also be seen in other conditions which are associated with a hyperdynamic circulation. A more comprehensive list of causes follows:[4]
- Physiological
- Cardiac lesions
- Syndromes or high-output states
- Anemia
- Cor pulmonale
- Cirrhosis of liver
- Beriberi
- Thyrotoxicosis
- Arteriovenous fistula
- Paget's disease
- Other causes
- Chronic alcoholism
Eponym
"Watson's water hammer pulse" and "Corrigan's pulse" refer to similar observations. However, the former usually refers to measurement of a pulse on a limb, while the latter refers to measurement of the pulse of the carotid artery.[1]
- "Corrigan's pulse" is named for Sir Dominic Corrigan, the Irish physician, who characterized it in 1832.[5][6]
- "Watson's water hammer pulse" is named for Thomas Watson, who characterized it in 1844.[1]
See also
References
- ^ PMID 18480541.
- ISBN 978-0-7817-7153-5.
- ^ "Aortic Regurgitation". The Lecturio Medical Concept Library. October 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- PMID 30252374. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- Who Named It?
- ^ D. J. Corrigan. On permanent patency of the mouth of the aorta, or inadequacy of the aortic valves. The Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, 1832, 37: 225-245.