When attempting to control bleeding, you should apply pressure to the primary artery below the wound. True or false?

• A. True
• B. It should be applied to the artery above the wound
• C. False
• D. It should be applied away from the wound

Answer: (C)

The main idea is controlling blood loss by reducing the flow to the injured area. Start with firm direct pressure on the wound to stop or slow the bleeding. If the bleeding is heavy and arterial, you then apply pressure on the primary artery above the wound (proximal to the injury) to reduce blood flow to the area. Pressing on the artery below the wound doesn’t effectively stop the bleeding because it doesn’t reduce the blood reaching the wound from the heart. So the statement is not correct; you should apply pressure to the artery above the wound.