THE
SCENARIO
You
have been asked to help out in the cardiac
ward where Mr K has just been admitted
with chest pain - you assist with starting
cardiac monitoring and recording a 12 lead
ECG.
nThe
nurse you are assisting identifies
significant changes in Mr K’s cardiac
rhythm and ECG, and you notice that his
BP is falling and he is becoming pale,
cold, clammy and anxious.
nThe
patient’s medical officer is
called and after administration of
drugs and oxygen he rapidly
improves.
You
are amazed at how calmly the staff
assessed and treated this patient and
decide you need to improve your
knowledge of rhythms and ECG’s to
become more confident in caring for
cardiac patients.
On completion of
this module you should be able to ; -
-
Understand why patients with acute cardiac problems are often attached to a cardiac monitor.
-
Describe nursing responsibilities in initiating monitoring.
-
Outline key aspects of cardiac anatomy and electrophysiology which will help you recognize normal
-
Explain why a 12 lead ECG may be recorded and outline nursing
responsibilities in relation to this
-
Review changes which may be seen on the ECG tracings and gain a beginning knowledge of their significance.
This
recently written topic by ARC committee
member Heather Schubert, represents the
first part of a two topic series.
The
assessment comprises a challenging 10
question quiz which varies each time you
attempt it. You can review your marked quiz
after each attempt to aid the learning
process.
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