Cardiovascular Assessment Flashcards
What are some symptoms signifying the presence of illness that should be recorded during history taking?
- Feeding pattern - duration, associated, volume, stopping for rest, caloric supplement
- Fatigue - feeding or playing
- Oedema
- Dyspnoea - slower heart rate or tachypnoea - quicker
- Cyanosis - colour
- Squatting/spelling
- Growth
- Reference of infection
- Palpitations
What common symptoms of having congential heart disease to pick up in history taking?
- if caloric supplements are required - the disease takes all calories to heart so it doesn’t go to other organs or extremities
- this means they may have reduced growth
- palpitations as can feel heart racing in chest
What observations should be seen in cardiovascular assessment?
- well lit environment with child at rest
- observe position, activity and colour
- Vital signs and physiological parameter
State some red flags for history taking of cardiovascular assessment
- Feeding patterns - duration, volume
- Fatigue
- Oedema
- Dyspnoea (slow HR) - Tachypnoea
- Cyanosis
- Squatting/ Spelling (seen with fallots tetralogy)
- Growth - reduced
- Frequency of infection
- Palpitations
What vital signs are important for a cardiovascular assessment?
- Pulse (rate, rhythm and volume) considering rate changes due to ages, distress, fever, excitement etc.
- Ausculate - weak, normal or bounding
- Blood pressure - CO x systemic vascular resistance (correct cuff size, 2/3 of upper arm)
Define - systolic blood pressure
Force of contracting of left ventricle and blood ejected into systemic vessels
Define - diastolic blood pressure
recoil of artery and relaxation of heart
Define - mean arterial pressure
Perfusion to coronary arteries, organs.
How would you do an inspection during a cardiovascular assessment?
- Examine chest from all directions - Precordium - obvious bulging, left and right eternal, borders and apical area
- Look at skin for scarring (history?)
- Position, activity and colour
- Oedemas (sacral, periordbital or flank)
- Clubbing (distorted angles and size of fingers)
- Temperature - warm start from peripheries
- Capillary refill
What questions should you ask yourself during auscultation?
- Are they clear and distinct?
- Are they synchronous with the pulse?
- Are they regular?
- What is the intensity?
- Third sound heard? (dull and low pitched)
What are you looking for when inspecting for colour?
- Pallor, cyanosis or mottling
- Peripheral cyanosis – maybe hypothermia or reduced blood flow
- Central cyanosis - inside mucous membranes
- Chronic cyanosis – increased blood viscosity
- Colour should be consistent over trunk and extremities
What is the P wave?
Atrial contraction
What is QRS wave?
Ventricular contraction
What is the T wave?
Ventricular relaxation
What is a normal P wave?
0.08 seconds
