Cardiology And EKGs Flashcards
1
Q
Angina
A
Chest pain caused by cardiac ischemia
2
Q
Automaticity
A
Ability of cardiac cells to initiate or generate an electrical impulse
3
Q
Autonomic nervous system
A
Part of the nervous system that regulates involuntary functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respirations
4
Q
Cardiac
A
Pertaining to the heart
5
Q
Cardiac output
A
Amount of blood pumped by the left ventricle in 1 minute. Measured by multiplying the heart rate (HR) by the stroke volume (SV).
6
Q
Conductivity
A
Ability of cardiac cells to transmit an electrical impulse
7
Q
Contractility
A
Ability of cardiac cells to respond to an electrical impulse by contracting
8
Q
Cyanosis
A
Blue-grey color of the lips, ski, and nail beds caused by a lack of oxygen
9
Q
Depolarization
A
Conduction of an electrical impulse through the heart muscle; normally causes a cardiac muscle contraction.
10
Q
dyspnea
A
Difficult or uncomfortable breathing
11
Q
Excitability
A
Ability of cardiac cells to respond to an electrical impulse
12
Q
Heart
A
Muscular organ that pumps blood to the body cells
13
Q
Heart/lung circulation
A
Transportation of blood from the body cells, through the heart and lungs, and back to the body cells
14
Q
Heart rate (HR)
A
The number of times the left ventricle contracts in 1 minute
15
Q
Hypotension
A
Decreased blood pressure; below the patient’s normal blood pressure
16
Q
Ischemia
A
Decreased supply of oxygen to the cells
17
Q
Lungs
A
Organs that remove carbon dioxide from the blood replacing it with oxygen
18
Q
Myocardial infarction (MI, heart attach)
A
death of cardiac tissue
19
Q
Perfusion
A
Movement of blood through a specific organ or part of the body, such as the cells of the heart muscle
20
Q
Polarization
A
Cardiac ready state; the cells are ready to respond to an electrical impulse
21
Q
Pulmonary
A
Pertaining to the lungs
22
Q
Repolarization
A
Cardiac recovery phase; the cells are returning to the ready state
23
Q
Stroke volume (SV)
A
The amount of blood pumped by the left ventricle with each contraction or beat.
24
Q
Absolute refractory period
A
The period of timing during which the cardiac cells have not sufficiently repolarized and cannot contract again
25
Artifact
Interference or static seen on the monitor
26
Biphasic (diphasic)
Going in two opposite directions; describes a complex component that is both above and below the baseline
27
Calipers
Instrument used to measure the regularity of the P to P and R to R intervals, and measure the length of various waveforms on a rhythm strip
28
Complex components
Set of waves seen on a monitor, which represents an electrical impulse traveling through the electrical conduction pathway of the heart; includes P, Q, R, S, and T waves
29
Electrode
Adhesive pad that is attached to the patient’s skin.
30
Lead wires
Wires that connect the electrodes to the monitor or telemetry unit
31
Leads
Specific placement of electrodes on the patient’s skin to record electrical activity
32
Monitor
A TV-like screen that shows the conduction of electrical impulses as they travel through the electrical conduction pathway of the heart
33
P to P interval
Length of time between one P wave and the next P wave
34
Rate
Number of electrical impulses occurring in 1 minute
35
Refractory period
Time between depolarization and repolarization
36
Relative refractory period
The period of time during which cardiac cells have repolarized enough that some cells can be stimulated to depolarize
37
Rhythm
Regularity of the appearance of the complex components
38
R to R interval
Length of time between one R wave and the next R wave
39
A deflection wave above the baseline is __________ and indicates electrical flow toward a __________ ____________.
positive (+), Positive electrode
40
Sodium and potassium in relation to the cell and polarization, depolarization, and repolarization
Sodium outside the cell and potassium inside the cell during polarization, potassium gets pushed outside the cell while sodium takes its place inside the cell causing an electrical impulse during depolarization, and during repolarization the sodium is moving back outside the cell while potassium is going back inside the cell.
41
Valve between the right atrium and right ventricle
Tricuspid valve
42
Valve between the left atrium and ventricle
Mitral valve
43
Valve between the aorta and left ventricle
Aortic valve
44
Valve between the pulmonary artery and the right atrium
Pulmonic valve
45
Epicardium
The outer layer of the cardiac muscle and is a thin protective membrane that covers the outside of the heart
46
Myocardium
The middle layer of the cardiac wall, this layer is the heart muscle that contracts and provides the pumping action needed to circulate blood.
47
Endocardium
Inner layer of the cardiac wall, lines the chambers of the heart and covers the valves.
48
Pericardial sac
Loose fitting membrane that contains the heart, a small amount of fluid can be found in the space between the epicardium and pericardium (15-50 mL)
49
1 small square on the graph paper
0.04 seconds
50
5 small squares on the graph paper
0.20 seconds
51
15 large squares
3 seconds
52
30 large squares
6 seconds
53
One small square up
0.1 millivolt (mV)
54
One big square up
0.5 millivolts (mV)
55
Up on the graph paper reads what?
Voltage/ amplitude
56
Length left to right on the graph paper reads what?
Time
57
SA node heart rate
60-100
58
AV node heart rate
40-60
59
Ventricular beat heart rate
20-40
60
Anything less than 20 beats per minute is considered what?
Atonal
61
Accessory pathway
Additional or abnormal electrical conduction pathway; the bundle of Kent (Kent bundle) is an example
62
Antegrade
Downward movement of an electrical impulse from atria to ventricles
63
Atrial dysrhythmias
Rhythms that are initiated from a pacemaker site in the atria, when the sinoatrial (SA) node fails to initiate an electrical impulse
64
bradycardia
Heart rate slower than 60 electrical impulses per minute
65
Compensatory pause
A pause in the rhythm that measures two times the R to R interval of the underlying rhythm
66
Delta wave
Extra “bump” seen in the slurred section at the beginning of a QRS complex; seen in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
67
Dysrhythmia
Abnormal cardiac rhythm; may be used interchangeably with the term arrhythmia
68
Inherent heart rate
Normal rate at which electrical impulses are generated; for the sinoatrial node it is 60-100 beats/minute
69
Noncompensatory pause
A pause in the rhythm that measures less than two times the R to R interval of the underlying rhythm
70
Normal electrical conduction pathway
Sinoatrial (SA) node to atrioventricular (AV) node, through the bundle of His and bundle branches, to the Purkinje fibers, ending in the ventricular muscle
71
Paroxysmal
sudden, intermittent start and stop symptoms or dysrhythmias; usually used to describe a type of atrial tachycardia
72
Premature complex
A complex that occurs earlier than expected in the underlying rhythm
73
Sinoatrial (SA) node
Primary pacemaker of the heart; it usually initiates the electrical impulses that travel through the electrical conduction pathway of the heart
74
Sinus rhythms
Cardiac rhythms that slow the movement of an electrical impulse traveling from the sinoatrial node to the ventricles, following the normal electrical conduction pathway
75
Tachycardia
Heart rate faster than 100 electrical impulses per minute
76
Sinus tachycardia
Heart rate between 101-150 beats per minute
Because it follows a normal pathway, there is:
-An upright P wave before every QRS complex
-PR intervals remain within normal range of 0.12 - 0.20 seconds
-QRS complexes are normal at 0.04-0.12 seconds
- The P wave could be hidden within the T wave.
77
Sinus Arrhythmia
Occurs when the SA node initiates all the electrical impulses but at irregular intervals.
The P to P intervals and the R to R intervals change with respirations, producing an irregular rhythm.
The PR interval normal at 0.12-0.20
QRS complex normal at 0.04-0.12
6 second rhythm strip is the most reliable method in determining heart rate.
78
Sinus Exit Block
Occurs when the SA node initiates an electrical impulse that is blocked and not conducted to the atria.
The atria and ventricles do not depolarize, and a P wave will not be seen until the next conducted complex.
79
Sinus arrest (sinus pause)
Occurs when the SA node does not initiate an electrical impulse.
Because an impulse is not generated, depolarization will not occur and the next expected complex will not be seen.
80
PAC
Premature Atrial Complex
Originates from any atrial site outside the SA node
81
Compensatory pause
Measured from the R wave of the complex before the PAC (Premature Atrial Complex).
Measurement will equal at least two times the R to R interval of the underlying rhythm.
SA node does not respond to the premature beat of the PAC, therefore no change in the rate or regularity of the underlying rhythm.
82
Noncompensatory pause
Measure form the R wave of the complex before the PAC to the R wave of the complex after the PAC.
Measurement will be less than two times the R to R interval of the underlying rhythm.
83
What does a noncompensatory pause indicate?
The development of increased irritability in the SA node, causing it to generate an impulse sooner than expected in response to the premature beat.
Increased irritability could lead to sinus tachycardia.
84
PAT
Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia, also known as PSVT
85
PSVT
Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia
86
SVT
Supraventricular Tachycardia
Fits all of the characteristics of a PAT/PSVT but the beginning of the dysrhythmia is not seen.
General term that refers to any dysrhythmia that cannot be identified by other means, originates from an irritable site above the bundle of His and has a rate grater than 150
87
Atrial flutter
Occurs when a single irritable site in the atria initiates many electrical impulses at a rapid rate.
Electrical impulses are produced so rapid that normal P waves are not produced, instead F (flutter) waves are formed.
88
Atrial rate of F waves in Atrial flutter
Usually ranges from 250-350 impulses per minute.
89
Atrial Fibbrillation
Increased irritability of all the cardiac cells in the atria.
Because of this increased atrial irritability, many sites within the atria attempt to initiate electrical impulses at the same time.
Atrial rate is usually 350 to 500.
90
Uncontrolled Atrial Fibrillation has a ventricular rate of....
Greater than 150
91
Retrograde
Upward electrical conduction from the ventricles
92
Continuous cycle
Both upward and downward electrical conduction in a continuous cycle (very dangerous)
93
Atrioventricular (AV) junctional area
Portion of the heart’s conduction system that works with AV node to relay the release of electrical stimuli to the ventricles; may function as a secondary pacemaker of the heart
94
Atrioventricular (AV) node
A section of the atrioventricular junctional area; part of the normal electrical conduction pathway of the heart
95
Buried P wave
A P wave that is hidden within the QRS complex and, therefore, not seen
96
Inherent heart rate
Normal rate at which electrical impulses are generated; for the AV junctional area it is 40 to 60 impulses per minute
97
Inverted P wave
An upside down P wave before or after the QRS complex
98
Junctional dysrhythmia
Cardiac dysrhythmia that is initiated in the AV junctional area when the SA node fails to initiate an electrical impulse
99
Retrograde P wave
P wave that is seen after the QRS complex; it is also inverted
100
3 characteristics that change in the P waves in AV junctional dysrhythmias
Inverted, buried (hidden), and retrograde
101
Junctional bradycardia
A dysrhythmia that occurs when all the electrical impulses originate from a single site within the AV junctional area, at a rate less than 40 impulses per minute.
102
Accelerated junctional rhythm
When the electrical impulses originate from a single site within the AV junctional area, at a rate between 61-100
103
PJC
Premature junctional complex
Common and can occur in any rhythm
Originates from a single site in the AV junctional area and occurs earlier than the next expected complex of the underlying rhythm.
