Water hammer pulse

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 29.10.2020

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

Water hammer pulse = Pulsus celer et altus (from Latin: pulsus= blow, celer= fast, altus= high/large)

A pulsus celer et altus denotes a pulse finding which is very strong on palpation (altus) and at the same time has a high slope, i.e. quickly reaches the maximum (celer). The systolic blood pressure is high, whereas the diastolic blood pressure is low (e.g. RR 170/50 mmHg).

In the extreme form, a pulse-synchronous nodding of the head or a pulse-synchronous booming of the head can occur due to the high blood pressure amplitude.

  • Typical causes can be:
  • Aortic valve insufficiency
  • Persistent ductus arteriosus

LiteratureThis section has been translated automatically.

  1. Herold G et al (2018) Internal Medicine, Herold Verlag p. 177

Authors

Last updated on: 29.10.2020

Editor: Tarik Farrag