Principles of monitoring Flashcards
When should low-tech monitoring be done? What kind of special equipment exists for monitoring patients?
ALWAYS
ECG, BP (doppler, ocillometric, direct); pulse oximetry, expiratory, end-tital CO2
What 4 things are done to monitor heart rate/rhythm?
- Auscultation
- Stethoscope/esophageal
- Count rate and detect abnormal rhythm
- Pulse oximeter (SpO2)
- Provides HR (not always accurate if poor signal)
- May provide sense of rhythm (plethysmograph)
- Doppler BP
- Accurate pulse rate and sense of rhythm
- ECG
- HR number may/may not be accurate
- Only way to determine TYPE of rhythm
How is heart rate controlled?
- Parasympathetic (vagal)
- Sinoatrial (SA), atrioventricular (AV) nodes
- Muscarinic receptors (M1)
- Sympathetic
- SA, AV nodes; ventricular
- Alpha1 (minimal) and beta1, 2 receptors
What are some causes of bradycardia?
- **Increased parasympathetic tone (Vagal stimulation)
- Pressure on eyeball
- Pulling on viscera
- Drugs (opioids; alpha2 agonists)
- Possible profound depth of anesthesia (lack of sympathetic tone)
- High serum K+
- SA nodal disease
- Complete heart block
What are some causes of tachycardia?
- Increased sympathetic tone
- Stimulation; pain
- Hypovolemia; blood loss
- Very elevated CO2
- Hypoxemia
- Drugs (ketamine, inotropes)
- Disease (pheochromocytoma; hyperthyroidism)
ECG–general
- Electrical activity of the heart
- Composite of all the action potentials
What does each wave/interval on the ECG represent?
- P wave = atrial depolarization
- P-R interval = duration of transmission from atria to ventricle
- QRS = ventricular depolarization–Q and S normally variable
- S-T interval = time to repolarization of ventricles
- T wave = repolarization of ventricles
T/F: The ECG says nothing about the function of the heart
TRUE
How do you assess the ECG for rhythm (what all do you check)?
- P wave for every QRS
- A QRS for every P wave
- All the QRS’s should look the same
- All the P waves should look similar
- R-R intervals should be regular
- All P-R intervals should be regular (most important interval)
- T wave–positive or negative–but should not be changing
What are some rhythms that are variations of normal?
- Sinus bradycardia
- Sinus tachycardia
- Sinus (respiratory) arrhythmia
- Wandering pacemaker (P waves vary slightly)
Why is it important to monitor the ECG?
- Arrhythmias are common during the anesthesia period (even in animals w/ no pre-existing cardiac disease)
- Most are benign requiring no treatment–as long as they do not cause hemodynamic compromise
- Some may progress to a potential serious outcome–and warrants close observation w/ or w/o treatment
T/F: You can just use the monitor to evaluate heart rate
FALSE–count with the doppler, palpation, SpO2, or auscultate!
What abnormalities are detected on the ECG that might sound normal with a stethoscope?
- Abnormalities in conduction (hyperkalemia) will sound regular with a doppler or stethoscope
- Some arrhythmias when sustained (ventricular dysrhythmia) are regular and can sound like a regular rhythm with a doppler and will produce pulses if rate is not so high as to reduce output
- AND–we cannot treat dysrhythmia if we don’t know what kind it is
Circulation/perfusion–O2 uptake and delivery
- O2 uptake–functioning lungs
- Adequate CO for O2 delivery
- Functioning heart with adequate amount of Hgb to carry O2
Cardiac output–what is it and what does it depend on?
- Volume of blood ejected by the heart (L/min or ml/kg/min)
- Depends on HR and SV
- Stroke volume depends on venous return (Frank Starling)
- Preload; afterload contractility
- Stroke volume depends on venous return (Frank Starling)
What specialized equipment does cardiac output require?
- Invasive–catheter into pulmonary artery + computer monitor
- Lidco
- Not typically utilized in clinical patients
What are the determinants of blood pressure? Is it easy/good to measure?
- BP = CO X SVR
- Easy to measure, but not necessarily a good measure of perfusion if SVR is high