Monitoring Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What can we monitor for the cardiovascular system?
Heart Rate/Rhythm - Stethoscope + palpation
Mucous membrane colour + CRT
Bleeding from surgical site
Blood Pressure
Haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2)
What patient factors affect Heart rate/Rhythm?
Species
Breed
Age
Size
Stress levels
Drugs administered
Normal is roughly 60-120BPM
Why is it important to know a patients HR prior to induction?
To see if it deviates from normal rather than focusing on specific number
For comparison
Each patients resting HR is different
What are the problems with relying on Heart rate?
Presence of a heartbeat doesn’t tell you cardiac output
Could have inadequate circulation
Always use in conjunction with pulse palpation and blood pressure
What are the methods are assessing heart rate?
Oesophageal stethoscope - more accurate/reliable
Measure length before inserting
From incisors to scapula
Insert down side of ET tube - pull tongue forward
Can manipulate tube until clear sound
Normal stethoscope
Pulse palpation
Listen to heart whilst also palpating peripheral pulse
How does pulse palpation with auscultation help?
Listen to heart whilst also palpating peripheral pulse
Deficits identified by:
Palpation of a peripheral pulse that has an irregular rhythm/pauses
Pulse rate that is less than the heart rate determined with a stethoscope
What locations can you use for pulse palpation?
- Sublingual on the ventral aspect of the tongue
- Mandibular - not so common
- Digital metacarpal - very common
- Digital metatarsal - very common
- Dorsal pedal - usually palpable over the dorsum of the metatarsal area.
- Femoral medial aspect of the femur - easy to find
- Coccygeal artery on the ventral surface of the tail - not as common
Common mistakes of pulse palpation
Using your thumb
You have a pulse in your thumb so that can make it difficult to feel the patients’ pulse
Pressing down on the pulse too hard
Meaning you occlude it and therefore can’t feel anything
How can you assess CRT?
When an area of the gum is pressed, blood is forced out of the capillaries in this area
When you remove your finger there is a pale patch
Blood refills capillaries once finger is released showing return to original colour
Should be <2 seconds (~1.5-2 seconds)
What should healthy MM look like?
Pink and moist
CRT <2s
What do vasodilated mm look like?
Very pink
Dry/tacky
CRT paid
What causes vasodilated mm?
Sepsis
Anaesthetic drugs - anaphylaxis
Low MAP (mean arterial pressure)
What do vasoconstricted mm look like?
Pale
Wet CRT >2s
What causes vasoconstricted mm?
Anaemia
Inadequate blood flow
Alpha-2 agonists
What is cyanosis?
Blue/purplish mucous membranes
due to peripheral tissues having low O2 saturation
Indicates SEVERE hypoxia - close to death
(Chow chows are purple anyway)