Pulsus Paradoxus: Definition, Causes, and Clinical Significance

Pulsus Paradoxus: Definition, Causes, and Clinical Significance

Question. Describe Briefly Pulsus paradoxus.

Answer. The term pulsus paradoxus is used to describe a dramatic fall in blood pressure during inspiration,i.e., characteristic of *tamponade, pericardial constriction, and severe airway obstruction.

• When the systolic blood pressure falls less than 10 mm, the pulse is referred to as pulsus paradoxus.
• Pulsus paradoxus is the *exaggeration of the normal phenomenon.

Pulsus Paradoxes Mechanism

Pulsus paradoxus Causes

• Superior vena cava obstruction
• Lung conditions

1. Asthma
2. Emphysema
3. Airway obstruction

Cardiac condition

• Pericardial effusion
• Constrictive pericarditis
• Severe congestive cardiac failure