Chapter 10 Flashcards
When PVC falls between two sinus beats without interfering with the rhythm
Interpolated beat
Single ectopic complex that occurs earlier than the next expected complex and arise from an irritable site in the ventricles
Premature ventricle complex
Shape of the PVC
Morphology
PVCs that are alike in appreance
Unifocal
PVCs with different shapes the pat originate from different sites within the ventricles
Multifocal
Another name given to a run or grouping of three or more PVCs in a row
Salvos
Decreased supply of oxygenated blood to the heart
Myocardial ischemia
(Also called ventricular escape rhythms) results when the discharge rate of higher pacemakers becomes less than that of the ventricles or when impulses from higher pacemakers fail to reach the ventricles
Idioventricular rhythms
When the rate of an IVR rhythm falls below 20 BPM
Agonal
Occurs when the rate of the ectopic pacemaker in an IVR exceeds 40 BPM
Accelerated idioventricular rhythm
Rhythm in which three or more PVCs arise in sequence at a rate of greater than 100 BPM; commonly overrides the normal pacemaker of the heart
Ventricular tachycardia
A rhythm that lasts for more than 30 seconds
Sustained rhythm
A run of V tach that lasts for more than 30 seconds
Nonsustained rhythm
Refers to a patient who presents with hypotension (low blood pressure) chest pain, shortness of breath, and changes in mental status
Hemodynamically unstable
Refers to a patient who presents a normal blood pressure, absence of chest pain, and no notable change in mental status
Hemodynamically stable
Similar to ventricular tachycardia; morphology of QRS complexes show variations in width and shape; life threatening dysrhythmia
Torsades de pointes
Is a fatal dysrhythmia that occurs as a result of multiple weak ectopic foci in the ventricles; there is no coordinated atrial or ventricle contraction and no palpable pulse
Ventricular fibrillation
The absence of all ventricular activity; also called cardiac standstill
Ventricular asystole
Sensation that the heart is skipping beats and beating rapidly
Palpations
Absence of palpable pulse and myocardial muscle activity with the presence of organized electrical activity (excluding V tach or V fib) on the cardiac monitor
Pulseless electrical activity (PEA)
Refers to the process of the passage of an electrical current through the heart during a specific part of the cardiac cycle for the purpose of terminating certain kind of dysrhythmias
Cardioversion
The process of passing an electrical current through a fibrillating heart to depolarize the cells and allow them to repolarize uniformly, thus restoring an organized normal rhythm after the onset of fibrillation
Defibrillation
