Learn to check pulsus paradoxus

How?

You can learn this skill by reading the tutorial

and then practice the skill using the simulator

Why?

Pulsus paradoxus is the variation in systolic blood pressure that occurs over the course of one respiratory cycle. This effect occurs in all of us, all of the time, but only to a small degree (say, 4 mmHg).

Most clinicians don’t need to check pulsus paradoxus often, but when we do, it’s important to be able to confirm or exclude an emergency presenting with a pulsus paradoxus of 10 mmHg or more, such as in someone with a newly identified large pericardial effusion.