WEEK 7 Flashcards
Cardiac arrhythmias can be classified by…
site of origin
Name the 3 types of cardiac arrythmias
Sinus rhythms, atrial rhythms and ventricular rhythms
Sinus tachycardia or bradycardia may be considered normal/clinical under specific circumstances. In which circumstance would bradycardia be considered normal?
During sleep
Sinus tachycardia or bradycardia may be considered normal/clinical under specific circumstances. In which circumstance would tachycardia be considered normal?
During physical activity
Atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and Av nodal re-entrant tachycardia are all forms of ….
Supraventricular tachycardiac (SVT)
An atrial flutter is caused by an electrical impulse that travels in a … and … loop
localised
self perpetuating
Where are atrial flutters most commonly located?
In the right atrium
T or F
Not all atrial impulses make their way to the ventricles
T
Due to the refractory properties of the AV node
What do the numbers refer to in the following statement?
“Patient A has a 3-1 heart block.”
Patient A’s atrium is pumping 3 times faster than their ventricle.
Atrial fibrillation is caused by multiple electrical impulses from many ectopic sights. These sights are typically near the roots of the…
pulmonary veins
T or F
Atrial fibrillation is caused by multiple electrical impulses that are initiated sequentially.
F
They are initiated randomly
What does atrial fibrillation look like on an ECG?
- Absence of p waves
- An undulating baseline (depending on the number of ectopic sights)
- Irregular QRS complexes
What does atrial flutter look like on an ECG?
- Absence of normal p waves
- flutter or f waves are present in “sawtooth” patterns
What does AVNRT stand for?
AV nodal reentrant tachycardia
T or F
Atrial and ventricular rhythms are equally dangerous
F
Ventricular rhythms are more lethal
T or F
The atrial and ventricular rates are identical in AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT).
T
T or F
Ventricular tachycardia is caused by multiple strong firing circuits in one of the ventricles.
F
It is typically caused by just one strong firing circuit
T or F
Ventricular tachycardia causes ventricular beats that are regular and fast
T
Ventricular tachycardias that last more than … seconds require immediate treatment to prevent cardiac arrest
30
T or F
In ventricular fibrillation the ventricles pump little blood
T
Injecting atropine blocks the effect of the …. on your heart.
vagus nerve
(thus increasing the hearts rate)
An isoprenaline infusion
stimulates …. on the heart.
beta receptors
T or F
Drugs are more effective when you have atrial or supraventricular arrhythmias than when you have a ventricular arrhythmia.
T
T or F
Drugs are not very effective at all in preventing ventricular arrhythmias.
T
T or F
Antiarrhythmic drugs with a principal site of action at the AV node, will speed up conduction within the node.
F
slow down
T or F
There are great mortality benefits of antiarrhythmic drugs.
F
limited mortality benefits
T or F
Torsades de Pointes is always preceded by a prolonged QT interval
T
A prolonged QT is generally accepted as greater than … milliseconds for men and greater than … milliseconds for women.
440
470
A prolonged QT interval leads to a chance of …., and this is why we measure the QT interval.
re-entrant pathways
(If a QT nomogram suggests that a patient is at risk of Torsades de Pointes)
Before suggesting the cessation of antiarrhythmic medication, a pharmacist should first rule out what things?
- electrolyte disturbances
- a history of congenital long QT syndrome.
- optimise their potassium, magnesium and calcium
- make sure that the patient is not hypoxic
or acidotic. - The patient should have telemetry until the QT normalises.
