Do you have a heart?

Nursemike, one thing to remember about elderly females.....see cartoon for details! :D

Your instructor probably told you to search for the apical pulse around or below the left nipple, right? He/she never mentioned that gravity takes its toll over the years on us females! :rotfl:

Thanks Jay jay,...darn law of gravity, gets me every time. Super man defied the laws of gravity, and I guess wonderwoman did too,..no wonder i was confused. But still for clarity, on a younger woman, is the pulse clearer above the breast also, or does it vary?

I like Erb's point.

why is it that every resident that requires an apical pulse before given certain meds?

The reason for this is that sometimes pts will have atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beat) and not all the beats that you hear apically will cause a pulse wave radially so you need an accurate heart beat count before giving certain meds which may be controlling the irregular beat....Hope this helps!!!!!!!!