Cardiac Arrhythmias

Question 1

what are the two types of cardiac arrhythmias

Answer 1

tachy arrhythmias and brady arrhythmias

Question 2

what are the types of tachy arrhythmias?

Answer 2

atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia

Question 3

what are the types of brady arrhythmias?

Answer 3

heart block and drug induced (b blocker, digoxin)

Question 4

what is the most common pulse for bradyarrhythmia?

Answer 4

50bpm

Question 5

what happens with a heart block?

Answer 5

slow/no conduction through the AV node to ventricles of impulse from SA node

Question 6

what is the ECG for a heart block?

Answer 6

prolonged p-q intervals on ECG

Question 7

what are the different levels of heart block classified by?

Answer 7

1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree (also termed complete heart block as no impulse passed to ventricles)

Question 8

what do tachyarrhythmias do?

Answer 8

impair cardiac function by reducing diastolic filling time leading to heart failure

Question 9

what can be seen on ECG with atrial tachyarrhythmias?

Answer 9

narrows QRS on ECG and no p waves

Question 10

what is atrial fibrillation?

Answer 10

rapid atrial impulses conducted to ventricles giving high heart rate

Question 11

what is the pulse like for atrial fibrillation?

Answer 11

irregularly irregular pulse

Question 12

what is the ECG like for ventricular tachyarrhythmias

Answer 12

broad QRS

Question 13

what are cardiac pacemakers used to treat?

Answer 13

bradyarrhythmias

Question 14

what do cardiac pacemakers do?

Answer 14

keeps the heart rate at a minimum level

Question 15

when do pacemakers stop pacing the heart?

Answer 15

if the pace of the heart is above a certain level

Question 16

what causes pacemakers to shut down?

Answer 16

electrical interference such as induction scalers

Question 17

what are some pacemakers implanted with?

Answer 17

implanted defibrillator

Question 18

what is the p wave?

Answer 18

atrial depolarisation

Question 19

what is the QRS complex?

Answer 19

ventricular depolarisation

Question 20

what is the T wave?

Answer 20

ventricular repolarisation

Question 21

what is ventricular fibrillation

Answer 21

unstable heart electrical activity - heart attack

Question 22

what happens in the heart with ventricular fibrillation

Answer 22

muscle fibres contracting in ventricles at random so there is no emptying of the ventricle

Question 23

how do you treat ventricular fibrillation?

Answer 23

defibrillation

Question 24

what is asystole

Answer 24

no cardiac output

Question 25

how do you treat asystole

Answer 25

adrenaline first to try and gain electrical output and then defibrillation

Question 26

what are the shockable rhythms?

Answer 26

ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia