Watson's water hammer pulse

Watson's water hammer pulse

WikiDoc Resources for Watson's water hammer pulse
Articles
Most recent articles on Watson's water hammer pulse Most cited articles on Watson's water hammer pulse Review articles on Watson's water hammer pulse Articles on Watson's water hammer pulse in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Watson's water hammer pulse Images of Watson's water hammer pulse Photos of Watson's water hammer pulse Podcasts & MP3s on Watson's water hammer pulse Videos on Watson's water hammer pulse
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Watson's water hammer pulse Bandolier on Watson's water hammer pulse TRIP on Watson's water hammer pulse
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Watson's water hammer pulse at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Watson's water hammer pulse Clinical Trials on Watson's water hammer pulse at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Watson's water hammer pulse NICE Guidance on Watson's water hammer pulse NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Watson's water hammer pulse CDC on Watson's water hammer pulse
Books
Books on Watson's water hammer pulse
News
Watson's water hammer pulse in the news Be alerted to news on Watson's water hammer pulse News trends on Watson's water hammer pulse
Commentary
Blogs on Watson's water hammer pulse
Definitions
Definitions of Watson's water hammer pulse
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Watson's water hammer pulse Discussion groups on Watson's water hammer pulse Patient Handouts on Watson's water hammer pulse Directions to Hospitals Treating Watson's water hammer pulse Risk calculators and risk factors for Watson's water hammer pulse
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Watson's water hammer pulse Causes & Risk Factors for Watson's water hammer pulse Diagnostic studies for Watson's water hammer pulse Treatment of Watson's water hammer pulse
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Watson's water hammer pulse
International
Watson's water hammer pulse en Espanol Watson's water hammer pulse en Francais
Business
Watson's water hammer pulse in the Marketplace Patents on Watson's water hammer pulse
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Watson's water hammer pulse

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]

Synonyms and Keywords: Corrigan's pulse

Overview

• Watson's water hammer pulse is the medical sign which describes a pulse that is bounding and forceful, as if it were the hitting of a water hammer that was causing the pulse.

• This is associated with increased stroke volume of the left ventricle and decrease in the peripheral resistance leading to the widened pulse pressure of aortic regurgitation.

• Also the carotid pulsations seen in aortic regurgitation is known as Corrigan's pulse.

Palpation

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 waterhammer pulse is felt as a tapping impulse which 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, therefore causing a palpable pulse.

This is commonly found when a patient has a leaking prosthetic aortic valve.

Causes

Physiological:

• Fever
• Pregnancy

Cardiac lesions:

• Aortic regurgitation
• Patent ductus arteriosus
• Systolic hypertension
• Bradycardia
• Aortopulmonary window
• Rupture of the sinus of valsalva into heart chambers

Syndromes or High output states:

• Anemia
• Cor pulmonale
• Cirrhosis of liver
• Beriberi
• Thyrotoxicosis
• Arteriovenous fistula
• Paget's disease

Other causes:

• Chronic alcoholism

Videos

Video demonstrating Corrigan's sign (rapid upstroke and collapse of the carotid artery pulse) {{#ev:youtube|C6mTmpP9Lvw}}

Related Chapters

• Aortic Insufficiency Physical Examination
• Blood hammer