Pulse during shock progression is described as

• A. It remains slow
• B. It will gradually increase, and then it gets thready
• C. It becomes rapid and full
• D. It stays strong

Answer: (B)

Pulse in shock shows how the body tries to keep perfusion and then struggles as decompensation sets in. At first, the sympathetic response drives the heart rate up to maintain cardiac output despite falling blood pressure, so the pulse begins to rise gradually. As shock worsens and circulating volume and stroke volume decline, the pulse quality becomes weak and thready because there isn’t enough force behind each beat to feel a strong pulse. So you’d expect a pattern of increasing rate that later becomes a thin, weak pulse as perfusion deteriorates. Quick, full pulses aren’t typical of shock, and a slow or strong pulse would not fit the state of hypoperfusion.