In medicine, relating to or characterized by a pulse that has multiple secondary wave patterns, indicating unusual or irregular heartbeat characteristics.
From Greek 'kata-' (down) + 'krotos' (stroke, beat). This medical term emerged in 19th-century cardiology to describe abnormal pulse patterns.
Before modern ECG machines, doctors felt patients' pulses and named what they felt—a catacrotic pulse feels like the heartbeat has an extra little bump, a secondary throb that hints at heart problems.
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