Dubin book Flashcards
P wave represents
atrial deploarization and contraction (contraction does take longer than the p wave shows).
Blood goes through the AV valves. (mitral and tricuspid)
The AV valves
The mitral and tricuspid (AV) valves lie between the atria and the ventricles, thereby acting to electrically insulated the ventricles from the atria
Tricuspid is on the right side.
The AV node
is the sole pathway to conduct the depolarization stimulus through the fibrous AV valves to the ventricles.
the timing of the contractions
both atria contract simultaneously, and also both ventricles contract together.
what is the part after the P wave on the EKG?
It takes a little time for the blood to flow through the valves into the ventricles, hence the necessary pause that produces a short piece of flat baseline after each P wave on the EKG.
At the AV node, depolarization slows down; slow conduction through the AV node is carried by calcium ions.
what happens after slow depolarization of the AV node?
depolarization shoots rapidly through the His Bundle and the Bundle branches and their subdivisions, so depolarization is quickly distributed to the myocytes of the ventricles.
Purkinje fibers use fast-moving Na+ ions for the conduction of depolarization
The ST segment is normally… and represents…
horizontal, flat, and most importantly, level with other areas of the baseline. If the ST segment is elevated or depressed beyond the normal baseline level, this is usually a sign of serious pathology that may indicate imminent problems.
It represents the plateau (initial) phase of ventricular repolarization.
The T wave represents
the final, “rapid” phase of ventricular repolarization, which occurs quickly and effectively.
Repolarization of the ventricles is accomplished by what ions leaving the myocytes?
K+
Ventricular systole is marked on the ekg how?
it begins with the QRS and persists until the end of the T wave.
The QT interval is a good indicator of
repolarization of the ventricles. Patients with hereditary long qt interval syndromes are vulnerable to dangerous or even deadly rapid ventricular rhythms.
The QT interval is usually less than half of the R-to-R interval.
The roles of ions
Calcium ions cause myocyte contraction
Potassium ion outflow causes repolarization of the myocytes
Sodium ion movement produces cell-to-cell conduction of depolarization in the heart, except the AV Node, which depends on the (slow) movement of Calcium ions.
EKG paper
little squares are 1 mm and represent .04 seconds
big squares are made up of 5 little ones = .2 seconds
The height (magnitude) of waves is a measure of
voltage
positive and negative deflections
positive deflections are upward on the EKG, negatives are downward.
When a wave of stimulation (depolarization) advances toward a positive skin electrode, this produces a positive deflection.
The leads of an EKG
6 limb leads: I, II, III, AVR, AVF and AVL. The R means “right arm positive,” F is left Foot, and L is Left Arm.
The AV leads are also called “unipolar.”
The limb leads are in the “frontal” plane.
6 chest leads (= precordial leads) in the horizontal plane. The point of intersection is the AV Node.
V1 and V2 are the right chest leads, V5 and V6 are the left chest leads
V3 and V4 are oriented over the area of the interventricular septum.
Sympathetic system on the heart
activates cardiac Beta 1 adrenergic receptors.
increases rate of SA Node pacing, rate of conduction, force of contraction and irritability of foci.
Norepinephrine does this, and epinephrine from the adrenal gland does it even more forcefully.
Parasympathetic system on the heart
Ach decreases the rate of SA node pacing, the rate of conduction, the force of contraction, nd the irritability of atrial and junctional foci.
“vagal” stimulation.
Autonomic control of blood flow and blood pressure
alpha 1 adrenergic receptors constrict arteries
cholinergic receptors dilate arteries
Merciful syncope
Severe pain may induce a reflex parasympathetic response that causes syncope
Slowing of SA node –> bradycardia and dilated arteries –> hypotension
Also called “vaso-vagal syncope”
Vagal maneuver
carotid sinus massage or induced gagging
inhibits irritable focus (atrial or AV jucntional) –> supraventricular tachycardia converts to sinus rhythm.
Also inhibits AV node (increases refractoriness) –> diagnostic aid with 2:1 AV block or atrial flutter
sympathetic response to standing
constriction of peripheral arteries to prevent distal blood pooling AND stimulate sinus pacing. (communicated by baroreceptors)
orthostatic hypotension is caused by failure of these compensatory sympathetic mechanisms upon standing.
Neurocardiogenic syncope
In some elderly patients, prolonged standing stimulates sinus pacing but vasoconstriction fails –> transient tachycardia with poor cardiac volume -> stimulates left ventricular stretch receptors (mechanoreceptors)–> paradoxical parasympathetic reflex:
- bradicardia and hypotension –> syncope
Head Up Tilt (HUT) test confirms diagnosis
THe 5 steps of reading an EKG
Rate: 300, 150, 100, 75, 60, 50
Rhythm: P before QRS, QRS after each P
PR intervals (for AV Blocks)
QRS interval (for BBB)
If Axis Deviation, rule out hemiblock
Axis: QRS above or below baseline for Axis Quadrant (for normal vs. R or L axis deviation
For Axis in degrees, find isoelectric QRS in a limb lead of Axis Quadrant using the Axis in Degrees chart.
Axis rotation in the horizontal plane: find transitional (isoelectric) QRS.
Hypertrophy: Check V1 (P wave for atrial hypertrophy, R wave for Right Ventricular Hypertrophy, S wave depth in V1 + R wave height in V5 for left ventricular hypertrophy)
Infarction: scan all leads for Q waves, inverted T waves, ST segment elevation or depression. Find the location of the pathology (in th e left ventricle) and then identify the occluded coronary artery.
Normal sinus rhythm
60-100 beats per minute.
The heart’s normal pacemaker
SA Node. Located in the upper-posterior wall of the right atrium.
Sinus rhythm slower than 60 bpm
sinus bradycardia. Often results from parasympathetic excess. (conditioned athletes at rest)
Sinus rhythm faster than 100 bpm
sinus tachycardia. Exercise can cause this, for example.
automaticity foci (= ectopic foci)
focal areas of automaticity in the heart that are potential pacemakers capable of pacing in emergency situations. Normally electrically silent.
Atrial automaticity foci (within the atrial conduction system)
Junctional automaticity foci (in the AV junction)
Ventricular automaticity foci (in the purkinje fibers)
Pacing rates of automaticity foci
Atrial: 60-80
Junctional: 40-60
Ventricular: 20-40
overdrive suppression
The SA Node overdrive-suppresses all foci (since they have a slower inherent pacing rate)
Each ectopic focus will overdrive -suppress all lower (slower) foci, eliminating any competition.
Idioventricular rhythm
occurs if all pacemaking centers above the bundle of His ectopic focus have failed OR if there is a complete block of conduction below the AV node that prevents any pacing stimulus above it from reaching the ventricle.
Count the large boxes for rate
300, 150, 100
75, 60, 50
For bradycardia, check rate by…
looking at the 3-second marks. 2 of these is 6 seconds, multiply the numer of waves by 10.
respiration and sinus rhythm
The slight increase in heart rate during inspiration is due to sympathetic stimulation of the SA node, and the slight decrease during expiration– parasympathetic inhibition of hte SA node. This is normal.
Three conduction pathways from the SA node to the AV node
Anterior, middle and posterior internodal tracts.
Bachmann’s bundle
originates in the SA node and distributes depolarization to the left atrium.
this does not record on the EKG, but depolarization of the atrial mycoardium produces a P wave.
coronary sinus
the heart’s own venous drainage empties into the right atrium via the coronary sinus
U wave
purkinje fibers take longer to repolarize than the ventricular repolarization. The final phase of purkinje repolarization may record a small hump, the U wave, on EKG.
Irregular rhythms usually caused by multiple, active automaticity sites
Wandering pacemaker
multifocal atrial tachycardia
atrial fibrillation
irregular rhythms
lack a constant duration between paced cycles.
entrance block
when any incoming depolarization is blocked, and ectopic foci cannot be overdrive-suppressed while their own automaticity is still conducted to surrounding tissue. When an automaticity focus has entrance block, it is said to be parasystolic.
Wandering pacemaker
irregular ventricular rhythm.
P’ wave shape varies
atrial rate less than 100
irregular rhythm produced by the pacemaker activity wandering from the SA node to nearby atrial automaticity foci. –> cycle length variation and variation in the shape of the P’ waves.
Multifocal atrial tachycardia
p’ wave shape varies
atrial rate exceeds 100
irregular ventricular rhythm.
often seen in COPD. heart rate over 100 per minute with P’ waves of various shapes, since 3 or more atrial foci are involved.
Atrial fibrillation
continuous chaotic atrial spikes (no real P waves0
irregular ventricular rhythm.
Caused by the continuous rapid-firing of multiple atrial automaticity foci. No impulse depolarizes the atria completely, and only an occasional, random atrial depolarization reaches the AV node to be conducted to the ventricles; this produces an irregular ventricular (QRS) rhythm.
Escape Rhythm
an automaticity focus escapes overdrive suppression to pace at its inherent rate:
- atrial escape rhythm
junctional escape rhythm
ventricular escape rhythm
Escape Beat
an automaticity focus transiently escapes overdrive suppression to emit one beat:
atrial escape beat
junctional escape beat
ventricular escape beat
Atrial escape rhythm
with sinus arrest, an atrial focus quickly escapes overdrive suppression to become the dominant pacemaker at its inherent rate.
P waves will look different than before.
Junctional escape rhythm.
absent regular pacing stimulie from above, an automaticity focus in the AV juction may escape overdrive suppression to become an active pacemaker producing a junctional escape rhythm in its inherent range: 40-60 per minute.
Mainly conducts to ventricles, producing a series of lone QRS complexes. But can cause retrograde atrial depolarization–> inverted P’.
downward displacement of the pacemaker
total failure of hte SA node and all automaticity foci above the ventricles is a rare and grave condition. In extremis, a ventricular focus escapes to become the active ventricular pacemaker in a final attempt to sustain life.
blood flow is often so slow as to –> syncope, “Stokes-Adams Syndrome.”
what does a burst of parasympathetic activity do?
depresses the SA node (producing a pause) and also depresses the atrial and junctional foci, which leaves only the ventricular foci to respond to the pause. So a ventricular automaticity focus escapes overdrive suppression and discharges, depolarizing the ventricles, producing an enormous ventricular complex.
This is usually transient.
premature beat
an irritable focus spontaneously fires a single stimulus:
premature atrial beat
premature junctional beat
premature ventricular beat
Atrial and junctional foci become irritable because of
adrenaline (epinephrine)
increased sympathetic stimulation
presence of caffeine, amphetamines, cocaine, or other beta 1 receptor stimulants
excess digitalis, some toxins, occasionally ethanol
hyperthyroidism (direct stimulation plus heart oversensitive to adrenergic stimulants)
stretch … and to some extent, low O2
a VERY irritable atrial or junctional focus
may fire a series of rapid pacing impulses to become the dominant pacemaker, overdrive-suppressing all automaticity centers.
the giveaway of a premature atrial beat
a PAB records as a P’. The P’ may be difficult to detect when it’s hiding on the peak of a T wave; the giveaway is a too-tall T, taller than the other T waves in the same lead.
when does an active automaticity center reset the pace?
when it reaches the dominant (active) center of automaticity. If it doesn’t, then the dominant center will continue with its original pace.
premature atrial beat with aberrent ventricular conduction
the ventricular conduction system is usually receptive to being depolarized by a Premature Atrial Beat, but one bundle branch may not have completely RE polarized when the other is receptive. This produces a slightly widened QRS for that premature cycle only.
Non-conducted premature atrial beat
a PAB may be unable to depolarize the AV node if it is not fully repolarized and still refractory to an extra stimulus. This records as a too-early, unusual P’ wave that has no ventricular QRS-T response.
this DOES depolarize the SA node, which resets its pacemaking one cycle length after the premature stimulus.
this harmless, but dangerous-looking, span of empty baseline has the sinister appearance of a “some-kind-of-block” but is not.