Cardiovascular System Assessments and Hemodynamic Monitoring

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering ECG arrhythmias, cardiac pathophysiology, and noninvasive and invasive hemodynamic monitoring.

Cor Pulmonale

Right ventricular heart failure or right ventricular hypertrophy resulting from either cardiogenic causes or secondary to chronic hypoxemia and pulmonary vasoconstriction.

Hepatomegaly

Edema or enlargement of the liver caused by blood backing up through the inferior vena cava due to right ventricular failure, which can be visualized on an X-ray or palpated.

Sinus Bradycardia

A regular cardiac rhythm with a normal PQRST pattern exhibiting a heart rate of less than $60\text{ beats per minute}$.

Sinus Tachycardia

A regular cardiac rhythm with a normal PQRST pattern exhibiting a heart rate greater than $100\text{ beats per minute}$, commonly caused by anxiety, sympathomimetic drugs, or parasympatholytics.

Sinus Arrhythmia

An irregular cardiac rhythm where the heart rate varies by more than $10\%$ from beat to beat, normally increasing during inspiration and decreasing during expiration while maintaining a normal PQRST morphology.

Atrial Flutter

A cardiac arrhythmia characterized by multiple P waves preceding each normal QRS complex, carrying a risk of blood pooling and pulmonary embolism.

Atrial Fibrillation

A cardiac arrhythmia characterized by disorganized, ineffective atrial contractions without detectable P waves, an atrial rate of $350$ to $700\text{ beats per minute}$, an irregular ventricular rate, and loss of the atrial kick.

Atrial Kick

The contribution of active atrial contraction to ventricular filling, which represents approximately $10\%$ to $30\%$ of total cardiac output.

Automaticity

The ability of cardiac cells to initiate and generate their own electrical impulse spontaneously.

Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC)

Ventricular depolarization initiated by an ectopic focus within the ventricles rather than the SA node, characterized by the absence of a preceding P wave and a wide, bizarre QRS complex.

Bigeminal PVCs

A rhythm pattern in which a premature ventricular contraction occurs every second beat.

Trigeminal PVCs

A rhythm pattern in which a premature ventricular contraction occurs every third beat.

Ventricular Tachycardia

A rapid ventricular rhythm originating in the ventricles at a rate of $150$ to $250\text{ beats per minute}$, presenting with wide and bizarre QRS complexes and absent P waves; can be pulseless and require immediate defibrillation.

Ventricular Fibrillation

A medical emergency characterized by chaotic, undetectable electrical activity where the ventricles quiver out of control, resulting in no cardiac output and requiring immediate CPR and defibrillation.

Asystole

Cardiac standstill manifested as a flat line on the ECG, characterized by the complete absence of electrical and mechanical activity, for which defibrillation is not effective.

Capillary Refill

A noninvasive assessment of peripheral perfusion performed by pressing on the nail bed until blanched; normal blood return and reperfusion to pink occurs within $3$ to $5\text{ seconds}$.

Orientation Times Three

A clinical assessment of sensorium confirming the patient's awareness of person, place, and time.

Pulmonary Artery Catheter

An invasive hemodynamic monitoring device (Swan-Ganz catheter) inserted through the superior vena cava, right atrium, and right ventricle to lodge in the pulmonary artery, measuring right atrial, pulmonary artery, and wedge pressures.

Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure (PCWP)

An indirect measurement of left atrial pressure obtained by momentarily inflating the balloon at the tip of a pulmonary artery catheter.

Thermodilution Technique

A method using a pulmonary artery catheter to directly calculate cardiac output by measuring temperature changes over time.

Arterial Catheter (A-line)

An invasive monitoring catheter placed directly into an artery that provides continuous, second-to-second blood pressure monitoring and vascular access for arterial blood gas draws.

Central Venous Pressure (CVP) Catheter

An invasive line with its tip positioned in the superior vena cava directly above the right atrium, utilized to evaluate right ventricular filling pressure and fluid status.