CH 12: Vital Signs and Monitoring Devices - Critical Thinking Flashcards
How much time should the EMT spend looking for a pulse when the radial pulse is absent or extremely weak?
If you are attempting to assess for a radial pulse and cannot find one, do not spend more than a couple of seconds before checking the other arm or another artery such as the brachial or carotid artery.
How should you react when the BP monitor gives you a reading that is extremely different from previous readings you got?
If you ever question a BP reading, always repeat the procedure.
How can you get an accurate pulse oximeter reading on a patient with thick artificial nails?
Nail polish can cause an inaccurate reading on a pulse oximeter (blue nail polish actually gives most inaccurate readings). One option is to carry acetone wipes to quickly remove th enail polish from the fingernail. Remove any artificial nail. If the nail is too thick or if it is not possible to remove the polish or an artificial nail, you may try attaching a probe to a patient’s toe or earlobe.
Sometimes a patient’s heart will have an electrical problem and beat more than 200 times per minute. Why is the pulse so weak in such a patient?
Whenever the heart beats faster than the natural maximum heart rate, the chambers of the heart will fail to completely fill with blood before contracting, leading to poor blood flow from the ventricles and weaker pulses felt in the periphery.
When someone has lost a significant amount of blood, the adrenal glands secrete epinephrine (adrenaline), which causes pale, sweaty skin. What effect does epinephrine have on blood vessels, leading to this condition?
The sympathetic nervous system and the hormone epinephrine work to combat blood loss by constricting blood vessels. This causes more blood from the periphery, like the skin, to be shunted toward the core of the body, like the heart and lungs, where it is needed the most. Skin appears pale and sweaty because of the vasoconstrictive properties of epinephrine.
Why is chronically high diastolic pressure strongly associated with heart disease?
The diastolic pressure is the pressure that remains in the arteries when the left ventricle relaxes and refills. Chronically high pressures during this relaxation phase, also known as diastolic hypertension, obviously increase the stress and wear on cardiac structures and put the patient at much greater risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
