Hey everyone, it's Sarah with RegisteredNurseRN.com and today I'm going to demonstrate how to check the radial pulse. To do that, you'll need to perform hand hygiene and explain to the patient what you will be doing. Next, we're going to check the patient's pulse and as we feel the pulse, we're going to be looking at several things. Of course, we're going to be counting the rate, but we're also going to be feeling the strength of the pulse and we will be grading it on a 0 to three plus scale with zero being the pulse is absent, one plus, weak.
2 plus normal and 3 plus bounding. And the rhythm. Is the pulse regular or is it irregular?
Now in adults, the most common site to use to check the pulse is the radial artery because it's really easy to access. So it's found, what you want to do is find the thumb and it's found below it in this wrist area along the radial bone, hence why we call it the radial artery. Whenever you're checking the pulse, have the patient they can sit in bed, they can lie down, and you'll want to support their arm, extend it out and support it. And you're going to use your first three fingers to feel the pulse. Don't use your thumb.
Your thumb actually has a pulse in it. So use your first three fingers and find it within that area I just told you and lightly just touch it. Don't press too hard and feel the bounding of the pulse. And what you want to do is you want to count it for 30 seconds if the pulse is regular and multiply that number by two.
If it's irregular, count it for one full minute. So his heart rate is 82. It's regular and it's two plus. And a normal heart rate in an adult is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Okay, so that wraps up this video on how to check a radial pulse.
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