95: "That's a Weird Blood Pressure!": Recognizing and Interpreting Wide and Narrow Pulse Pressures

Do you know how to recognize a wide or narrow pulse pressure and what each finding tells you about your patient? Following last week's discussion on the shock index, host Sarah Lorenzini introduces pulse pressure as another essential tool in the nurse's assessment arsenal.

In this episode, Sarah outlines how to measure and interpret pulse pressure. She shares two patient stories to illustrate how variations in pulse pressure can indicate different underlying conditions: The case study of Mrs. D highlights the implications of narrow pulse pressure, and the case study of Mr. S explores wide pulse pressure.

Through these examples, Sarah emphasizes how pulse pressure can be a key indicator in patient assessments while also clarifying its limitations. Listen in now!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The case study of Mrs. D
• Measuring and interpreting pulse pressure
• Causes of narrow pulse pressure
• Causes of wide pulse pressure
• The case study of Mr. S
• Limitations to pulse pressure
• Using pulse pressure as a diagnostic tool

Mentioned in this episode:

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