Brain Injuries and Arrtythmias Flashcards
What to Assess if there is a suspected brain injury?
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- O2 sat
- PEERLA
- Temperature
- Glasgow Coma Scale
What is Intracranial pressure?
Increased pressure within the cerebrum. This is a medical emergency!
Signs and Symptoms of ICP?
- Headache
- Nausea
- Double vision
- Decreased mental awareness
- Shallow breathing
What is cerebral edema?
Cerebral edema is brain swelling following a primary brain injury! Caused increase in fluid in the extravascular space and ICP. It can be caused by infections, injury
What is vasogenic Cerebral Edema?
this occurs when the blood-brain barrier is compromised. Mainly a result of head injury, hemorrhage OR CNS infection which leads to inflammation. The increased blood flow causes edema
What is Cytotoxic Cerebral Edema?
Increased Intracellular fluid shift into the cells, causing an increased ICP
Extracellular Na+ and other cations enter into neurons and astrocytes and accumulate intracellularly
What is a Cerebrovascular Accident?
A stroke!
What is a thrombotic/ischemic stroke?
This is caused by a thrombus found within a blood vessel in the ebrain. This blockage causes decreased blood flow, decreased oxygenation resulting in necrosis.
What is Hemorrhagic Stroke?
This is caused by a rupture of cerebral vessels . hemorrhagic bleeding interferes with the brain’s ability to function
Hemorrhagic Stroke Treatment?
- Osmotic Diuretics
- Hypertonic NS
- Optimize Perfusion
What is a Transient Ischemic Attack?
Look like strokes in terms of signs and symptoms, but they are temporary. It is a huge warning sign to indicate that an individual is at high risk for a stroke!
What is the FAST acronym?
Face drooping
Arms (can you raise both?)
Speech (slurred or jumbled)
Time (call 9-1-1 immediately)
Treatment of Cerebral Vascular Accidents.
Thrombolytics! Lyse the blood clot and regain blood flow immediately
What is an Aneurysm?
a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall. As blood passes through the weakened blood vessel, the blood pressure causes a small area to bulge outwards like a balloon.
How are Cerebral Aneurysms Treated?
Through coiling or flow diversion! During this process, a catheter is inserted into an artery into the leg. The tube is guided through a network of blood vessels until it reaches the site of the aneurysm. Tiny platinum coils are passed through into the aneurysm
What is an arrhythmia?
Dysrhythmia is a disturbance to a normal rhythm.
What is the normal range for Heart rate?
60-100 beats per minute
What is Sinus Bradycardia?
when the SA node fires less than 60 times per minute resulting in a slower heart rate
What is Sinus Tachycardia?
when the SA node fires more than 100 beats per minute generating a faster heart rate
What is Atrial Flutter?
caused by an electrical impulse that travels around in a localized self-perpetuation loop in the right atrium. This causes the atrial rate to be higher than the ventricular rate
What is Atrial fibrillation?
caused by multiple electrical impulses that are initiated randomly. These un-synchronized, chaotic electrical signals cause the atria to quiver or fibrillate rather than contract.
What is Ventricular tachycardia?
caused by a single strong firing site or circuit in one of the ventricles. The beats produced are fast; ranging from 100-250 beats per minute.
What is Ventricular Fibrillation?
v-fib is caused by multiple weak ectopic sites in the ventricles. These un-synchronized, chaotic electrical signals cause the ventricles to quiver or fibrillate rather than contract. The heart pumps little or no blood. V-fib can quickly lead to cardiac arrest
How is Ventricular Fibrillation treated?
The first drug of choice is epinephrine (a.k.a adrenaline)!
