ECG Cardiac

Question 1

What are the standard five checks for an EMT to do on a 3 lead lead ECG?

Answer 1

1. Rate - is it brady (<60) or tachy (>100) bpm
2. Regularity - regular or irregular (then occasionally, irregularly or regularly regular)
3. Is a P wave present? (one per complex?, upright or inverted?, do all P waves look alike?)
4. PR interval (time it takes atria to depolarize) - normal 0.12-0.2 sec (3-5 small boxes)
5. QRS intervals - do all complexes look alike?, what is QRS duration 0.04-012 (>0.12sec 3 small boxes) = abnormal

Question 2

How many seconds is one small square on an ECG?

Answer 2

0.04 sec

Question 3

What are the two shockable ECG rhythms?

Answer 3

The two “shockable” rhythms are ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia while the two “non–shockable” rhythms are asystole and pulseless electrical activity.