| Physical Finding | Associated cardiac condition(s) |
| Pulse rate | |
| Heart rate < 60, >100 | Sinus bradycardia, sinus tachycardia |
| Irregularly irregular | Atrial fibrillation |
| Regularly irregular | Bi-/trigeminy, 2nd degree atrioventricular block |
| Pulse quality | |
| Radio-femoral delay | Coarctation (associated with bicuspid aortic valve & aortic stenosis) |
| Hypokinetic (low volume) | Aortic stenosis, congestive heart failure, restrictive pericardial disease, mitral stenosis |
| Hyperkinetic (large, bounding) | Complete heart block, anxiety, anemia, exercise, fever, patent ductusarteriosus, peripheral atrioventricular fistula, mitral regurgitation, ventricular septal defect, aortic regurgitation |
| Collapsing / Corrigan’s pulse (full hard pulse followed by a sudden collapse) | Aortic regurgitation, hyperdynamic circulation, atherosclerotic aorta, patent ductusarteriosus, arteriovenous aneurysm |
| Anacrotic (small volume, slow upstroke) | Aortic stenosis |
| Pulsusbisferiens (two systolic peaks) | Aortic regurgitation, combined aortic regurgitation & aortic stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, patent ductusarteriosus |
| Dicrotic pulse | Dilated cardiomyopathy |
| Pulsusparvus (small weak pulse) | Aortic stenosis |
| Pulsustardus (delayed or slow rising systolic peak) | Aortic stenosis |
| Pulsusparvus et tardus (plateau pulse) | Severe aortic stenosis |
| Pulses paradoxus (a decrease in systolic blood pressure of >10 mm Hg during inspiration) | Pulmonary embolism, superior vena cava obstruction, cardiac tamponade, constrictive pericarditis, airway obstruction, hypovolemia, pregnancy, morbid obesity |
| Pulsusbigeminus (groups of two heartbeats close together followed by a longer pause; the second pulse is weaker than the first) | Ventricular bigeminy, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy |
| Pulsusalternans (alternating strong & weak pulses) | Left ventricular failure (hypertension, aortic stenosis, coronary artery disease, dilated cardiomyopathies), during or post paroxysmal tachycardia |
| Blood pressure | |
| 120–139 or 80–89 mmHg | Prehypertension |
| < 140/90 mmHg | Goal blood pressure in hypertensive patient |
| < 130/80 mmHg | Goal blood pressure in diabetes, chronic kidney disease, known coronary artery disease or equivalent (carotid artery disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm & peripheral vascular disease), or 10-year Framingham risk score of >=10%. |
| < 120/80 mmHg | Goal blood pressure in left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction <40%) |
| Wide pulse pressure (e.g. 180/80) | Aortic regurgitation |
| Narrow pulse pressure (e.g. 120/100) | Aortic stenosis |
| Differential in 2 arms >10 mmHg | Aortic dissection, aortic coarctation, arterial occlusion/stenosis of any cause |