Question
My husband recently had this test and was found to not have a pulse in either wrist when his hands were raised above is head.  I understand this is extremely rare to occur on both sides.  I have done some searching but have found myself kind of lost.  Can you recommend a search or site to find some information on this?
Thank you for your time.
Sheila

Answer
Sheila,

If your husband has no symptoms in the arms/hands such as pain or numbness, and he only loses his pulses when his hands are overhead, then that does not necessarily indicate a medical problem.  It is not rare to have a loss of the radial pulse in both arms when they are overhead.  

Adson's test involves raising the whole arm overhead while feeling the pulse, and then having the patient turn the head to the same side and take a deep breath (and hold breath).  It is a "positive" test when two things occur: 1) the pulse is lost and 2)arm/hand symptoms are produced, such as pain, tingling, numbness, etc.  It is a sign of very tight muscles in the front of the neck, or an extra bone (e.g. extra rib), that compresses the blood vessels and nerves that pass through.  This neck region is called the thoracic outlet.  It is an outlet for these blood vessels (the subclavian artery) and nerves (the brachial plexus).  You likely can find a lot of information by "googling" Adson's test.

'Hope this was helpful,

Dr. G
www.drgillman.com