By pressing the supply artery against a bone, at a point between the heart and the wound, the blood supply towards the wound is blocked. The damaged artery will only be fed blood via collateral arteries. This generally results in only slight bleeding.
There are only a limited number of points on the body where an artery can be compressed. A suitable pressure point is a site, located between the heart and the wound, where the artery lies close to the surface and supplies blood to the damaged blood vessel. There must also be a hard underlying surface near the artery.
The main pressure points are [Figure 6]:
- Brachial artery (a).
- Subclavian artery (b).
- Popliteal artery (c).
- Femoral artery (d).
- Carotid artery (e).
Figure 6
