Patient Care and Preparation

STAT EKG

Critical to ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment for patients experiencing potential cardiac emergencies.

ICDs

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

Hypertension

identified when blood pressure consistently measures above 130/80 mmHg.

Myocardial Infarction

Heart Attack is identified by symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath,sweating, nausea, and lightheadedness.

ECG

(Electrocardiogram) typically shows ST-segment elevation,or depression, and blood tests reveal elevated cardiac,enzymes, like troponin, indicating heart muscle damage.

Atrial Fibrillation

(AFib) is identified by an irregular, often rapid heart rate, typically felt as palpitations.

Sinus Dysrhythmias

Which originate from the SA node: tachycardia (heart rate over 100 bpm), bradycardia (heart rate under 60 bpm), sinus arrest (the total absence of the p-wave, QRS complex, and T-wave),and sinus dysrhythmia (the same as sinus rhythm except with a patterned irregularity that can be described as slowing, then speeding up, then slowing again), which will usually happen with the inspiration and exhalation cycle (normal finding in children, athletes, and older patients).

Atrial Dysrhythmias

Originate outside the SA node, in the atrial tissue or in the intermodal pathways

Increased Automaticity

The atrial cells spontaneously depolarize and initiate impulses before the SA node can generate its pulse.

Triggered Activity

Injured cells sometimes only partially repolarize. This can sometimes lead to repetitive ectopic firing, which in turn may lead to atrial or ventricular tachycardia.

Reentry

This occurs when an impulse is delayed along a slow conduction pathway, and the impulse is able to remain active long enough to produce another impulse during myocardial repolarization.

Characteristics of Atrial Dysrhythmia

Shortened orprolonged P-R intervals, p-waves that differ in appearance from normal p-waves, and normal QRS-complexes.

SGLT2 inhibitors

Example: Empagliflozin

ARNI

Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors

HR

Heart Rate

BP

Blood Pressure

RR

Respiratory Rate

SpO2

Oxygen Saturation

BPM

Beats Per Minute