Heart Blocks
When a heartbeat is blocked, a P wave will appear on an EKG tracing without a related ______.
QRS complex
Atrial rhythms are caused by the electrical impulse starting in the ________.
atria
What happens to the P wave in junctional rhythms?
inverted or hidden in QRS complex
______ is the leading cause of many serious ventricular dysrhythmias.
Ischemic heart disease
Atrial fibrillation increases the risk for this cardiovascular condition by 5 times:
stroke
Why is third-degree heart block potentially lethal?
The atria and ventricles are not working together and cardiac output is compromised.
How do the P waves look in atrial rhythms?
flattened, pointed, notched, or biphasic
A series of junctional escape beats is known as ______ _______.
junctional rhythm
Dysrhythmias originating in the ventricles are often marked by widened and abnormal (bizarre) ______.
QRS complexes
What do monomormic complexes look like?
the same
Which of these is the most dangerous form of heart block?
Third-degree heart block
This occurs when impulses begin in several different areas (atria, AV node, and SA node)
Wandering atrial pacemaker
Where do junctional rythms begin?
AV junction
A potentially lethal rhythm marked by a chaotic rhythm pattern and lack of organized, measurable features on the EKG tracing is _________.
ventricular fibrillation
When a pacemaker delivers an electrical stimulus but the heart does not respond with a contraction, the malfunction is called______.
failure to capture.
Which form of heart block will show a generally progressive PR interval on an EKG tracing?
Second-degree heart block, Mobitz type I
This is a very common dysrhythmia that is caused from multiple irritable sites firing in the atria. The baseline of the EKG is wavy and irregular and there are no clear P waves.
Atrial fibrillation
Torsades de pointes is a form of ________.
ventricular tachycardia
What is the HR for supraventircular tachycardia?
150-250 BPM
What is another name for sinus arrest?
sinus pause
When there is a problem conducting electrical impulses from the atria to the ventricles, a pt's EKG will show _____.
AV block
If a patient is in atrial tachycardia, what might a provider direct a pt to perform to try to slow down the rate?
vagal maneuvers (valsalva maneuver)
The rate for a junctional rhythm is usually in the range of 40-60 BPM because this is the _____ rate of the junctional area.
Intrinsic
A PVC happens ____ and a ventricular escape beat happens ____.
early, late
What blood test may be ordered to screen for an MI when pt symptoms do not show ST segment elevation on an EKG?
troponin