Which dysrhythmia is considered to be the most fatal?
Which dysrhythmia is considered to be the most fatal and requires immediate treatment? Ventricular fibrillation The nurse assesses the electrocardiogram for depolarization of the atria.
What are the four lethal dysrhythmias of the heart?
The four lethal dysrhythmias are ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, torsades de pointes, and asystole. These can be seen on heart monitors such as holter monitors, event recorders, pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, electrocardiograms, and bedside heart monitors.
What are ventricular dysrhythmias?
Ventricular dysrhythmias are irregular heartbeats caused by the heart ventricles, some of which can be lethal. Explore the signs and symptoms of ventricular dysrhythmias, how physicians monitor these conditions, and commonly used treatments. Updated: 01/19/2022
What type of monitor should be used to monitor lethal ventricular dysrhythmias?
In terms of monitoring lethal ventricular dysrhythmias, a continuous monitor should be present. This includes monitors that can travel or monitors that are present in the hospital setting.
What is the most common complication of an MI quizlet?
Ventricular free wall rupture. VFWR is the most serious complication of AMI. VFWR is usually associated with large transmural infarctions and antecedent infarct expansion. It is the most common cause of death, second only to LV failure, and it accounts for 15-30% of the deaths associated with AMI.
What is ventricular fibrillation quizlet?
Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) -Ventricles are unable to contract normally, incompatible with life if not immediately addressed. -The heart's electrical activity becomes disordered and the ventricles contract in a rapid unsynchronized way. -The ventricles begin to "flutter" -The heart pumps little or no blood.
What is the correct sequence for the generation of electrical impulses in the heart causing ventricular contraction quizlet?
What is the correct sequence for the generation of electrical impulses in the heart causing ventricular contraction? The atrial conduction begins with the sinoatrial (SA) node, serving as the pacemaker of the heart. Impulses originating in the SA node travel through the atria to the arterioventricular (AV) node.
Which of the following statements most accurately captures a principle of blood flow quizlet?
Which statement most accurately captures a principle of blood flow? With constant pressure, a small increase in vessel radius results in an exponential increase in blood flow.
What happens in V fib?
Overview. Ventricular fibrillation is a type of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia). During ventricular fibrillation, disorganized heart signals cause the lower heart chambers (ventricles) to twitch (quiver) uselessly. As a result, the heart doesn't pump blood to the rest of the body.
How is ventricular fibrillation presented on ECG quizlet?
Ventricular fibrillation is seen on the ECG without a visible P wave; an unmeasurable heart rate, PR or QRS; and the rhythm is irregular and chaotic.
Which of the following is the correct order in which the electrical impulse travels through the heart in the conduction system?
The electrical impulse travels from the sinus node to the atrioventricular node (also called AV node). There, impulses are slowed down for a very short period, then continue down the conduction pathway via the bundle of His into the ventricles.
Which of the following best describes the correct order of the electrical conduction system of the heart?
The correct answer is E. SA node, AV node, bundle of His, Purkinje fibres.
Which of the following is the correct order for electrical impulses in the heart?
The correct sequence is D, E, B, C, and A. The electrical impulse is generated by the Sinoatrial node in the right atrium.
Which vascular component is the most distensible and can store large quantities of blood that can be returned to circulation at the time of need?
The most distensible of all vessels are the veins, which can increase their volume with only slight changes in pressure. This allows the veins to function as a reservoir for storing large quantities of blood that can be returned to the circulation when it is needed.
What are the smallest blood vessels in the body?
Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in the body. How small are they? About ten of them equal the thickness of one human hair, and most are so small that only one blood cell can pass through them at a time. Explain that smoking harms your blood cells and blood vessels, including tiny capillaries.
What is the final result of ventricular arrhythmias?
In all of them, the final result is the occurrence of malignant ventricular arrhythmias (polymorphic ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation) responsible for sudden cardiac death.
What percentage of sudden death patients do not have structural heart disease?
Around 20% of patients suffering from sudden death do not present a demonstrable structural heart disease. Most of them suffer from the so-called channelopathies related to the presence of mutations in the cardiac channels. The majority of them can be easily recognised by the presence of unique ECG anomalies.
What causes sudden death?
The principal cause of sudden death is the occurrence of malignant cardiac arrhythmias, which result in the loss of contraction of the heart with subsequent lack of blood supply to vital organs like the brain. The immediate consequence is loss of conscience, and if the arrhythmia persists for more than 5 minutes, the patient dies.
What is the treatment of choice for high risk patients?
The treatment of choice in these very high-risk patients is the implantation of an automatic defibrillator. This device permanently controls the heart rhythm. If the rhythm is to slow (bradycardia), the device paces the heart at a physiological rate.
Should a physician be aware of the markers of sudden death?
Every physician should be aware of these markers, and recognition of one of them should be enough to initiate a full screening in the patient and his or her family in order to identify the patients at risk for sudden death.
Is sudden death a structural heart disease?
There exists a subgroup of patients in whom sudden death may occur despite the fact that they do not present a demonstrable structural heart disease. Patients in this subgroup suffer from what has been named “electrical diseases”. During the last years, several of these diseases have been identified.
What are the symptoms of dysrhythmia?
Common symptoms of these dysrhythmias include dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting, and loss of consciousness. Treatments must be done emergently and consist of intravenous medications, oxygen or intubation, CPR, and defibrillation.
What is the term for a fast heart rate of 100 beats per minute?
There are several types of lethal ventricular dysrhythmias that are considered emergencies. Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach): sustained for over 30 seconds; occurs with or without a pulse; fast heart rate (100-220 beats per minute)
Why do they put a defibrillator in the heart?
His doctors plan to put an implanted cardiac defibrillator in his chest to help support his heart. Let's take a moment or two to review what we've learned. A ventricular dysrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat caused by the ventricles of the heart, and some of these ventricular dysrhythmias can be considered lethal.
What is the control of the heart?
Monitoring the Heart. The heartbeat is controlled by the atrium and ventricles. Sometimes the atrium and ventricles do different things that cause the heartbeat to become irregular. A ventricular dysrhythmia is one of these. There are several ways to monitor the heart for irregularity.
What are heart monitors?
These can be seen on heart monitors, such as Holter monitors, event recorders, pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, which are devices that are surgically implanted into the chest with wires connecting to the heart, electrocard iograms, and bedside heart monitors.
Why is Robert in the hospital?
Robert is in the hospital to be treated for a heart attack. His heart is being monitored 24 hours a day to make sure it is functioning properly. Robert suddenly feels dizzy and short of breath. A nurse comes running into the room after seeing a change in his heart monitor.