QIn my story, a man is shot in the femoral artery. How long would it take him to bleed out? Would tourniquets help stop the bleeding?
Lisanne Harrington
Award-winning short story author and novelist
Yorba Linda, California
AThe time it would take for him to bleed into shock and die depends on the exact nature of the injury to the artery (simply nicked or a chunk is blown out), the size and general health of the victim, and luck. If the injury is severe, the blood loss is rapid and comes in great pulsing gushes. As the victim’s blood pressure declines, the distance, force, and volume of the spurts will steadily decrease. Ultimately the victim will slip into shock, lose consciousness, and die. Once he is in shock the blood will only trickle, and once he dies it will stop altogether. This entire process could take two minutes or ten minutes, depending on many factors.
If he held pressure on the wound or applied a tourniquet above the wound to slow the bleeding, he could survive for hours. The leg would be okay for an hour or so but much longer than that and he would risk doing irreparable damage, even to the point that an amputation might be required. He could use any strong flexible material for the tourniquet: a belt, rolled shirt, stockings, jumper cable, electrical cord, etc.