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More Product news. More Product Originals. All Distributors. Make EMS1 your homepage. More than EMS courses and videos totaling over continuing edcuation hours! Email Print Comment. Use these tips to find a patient's pedal pulses: 1. Radial pulse first. Try the other leg If you are unable to find the pedal pulse on one leg, switch to the patient's other leg. Mark the location Once you have found a pedal pulse, consider using a ballpoint or felt pen to make a light mark at the pulse location to make reassessment easier.
Foot temperature and color Finally, if the patient's foot is warm with normal color, it is adequately perfused. This article, originally published December 7, , has been updated. Thank You! Join the discussion. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Updated visitor guidelines. Top of the page. Topic Overview Pulse and blood pressure measurements taken in different areas of the body help diagnose peripheral arterial disease. Pulse In the legs, doctors will commonly feel for pulses in the femoral groin , popliteal back of the knee , posterior tibial ankle , and dorsalis pedis foot areas. Blood pressure For peripheral arterial disease, blood pressure might be taken at the ankles, toes, legs, and arms.
Ankle pressure In most people, the resting ankle pressure is greater than the pressure at the crook of the arm, known as the brachial blood pressure. Toe pressure Toe pressures can be measured with miniature blood pressure cuffs to check for poor blood flow in the toes.
Segmental leg pressures Arterial pressure can be estimated in the upper thigh, above the knee, and in the upper calf by placing blood pressure cuffs at the appropriate levels. Arm pressures Blood pressures can be measured at the elbow brachial , forearm, or wrist.
Credits Current as of: August 31, Clinical Osteomyelitis: Deep ulcer which permits passage of Q-tip to underlying level of bone. Realize that all "circulation" problems are not the same. Disorders of blood inflow arterial and outflow venous have different associated signs and symptoms based on their varying pathophysiology see above.
Edema is commonly associated with venous insufficiency, a blood return problem. This disorder tends to get worse when the legs are allowed to dangle for prolonged periods below the level of the heart e. The fluid builds up preferentially in the most distal aspects of the leg and progress up towards the knee as the process worsens. Arterial insufficiency, on the other hand, rarely causes edema, which makes perfect sense as the problem lies in the delivery of blood to the extremity, not the return from it.
On occasion, the conditions may coexist. It may be difficult to detect small amounts of fluid. Look around the malleoli, as fluid will cause a loss of the normally distinct appearing edges of the bone. Similarly, fluid will tend to "fill in" the spaces between the extensor tendons on the top of the foot, causing them to appear less defined. If you're not sure whether fluid is present, push on the area for several seconds, release, and then gently rub your finger over that same spot, feeling for the presence of a "divot," referred to as pitting.
Much is said about pitting edema being associated with some disease states and non-pitting with others; however, the actual importance of this distinction is probably over stated.
Also note the proximal extent of the edema and if it is present to the same degree in both legs.
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