Cushing Triad is characterized by elevated blood pressure with what heart rate?

• A. Raccoon Eyes
• B. Cushing Triad
• C. Battle Sign
• D. Decorticate Posturing

Answer: (B)

Cushing triad reflects rising intracranial pressure and includes high systolic blood pressure with a slow heart rate and irregular respirations. The elevated BP is a compensatory effort to maintain cerebral perfusion when pressure inside the skull is increasing, while the bradycardia comes from a reflex trying to dampen the pressor response via the baroreceptors and vagal pathways as brainstem function becomes compromised. So, the heart rate described in this context is bradycardia (a decreased heart rate). The other signs listed (periorbital bruising, mastoid/retroauricular bruising, and abnormal posturing) are related to brain injury in different ways and do not describe the heart-rate component of Cushing triad.