Since the first edition of this book, we’ve been asked by many students to cover an approach, right from the start, for how to evaluate a rhythm strip. We heard you; this chapter is dedicated to providing just such an approach.
Note that creating an introductory approach to arrhythmia recognition without understanding the rhythm is like giving car mechanics a system of identifying the problem before they know what a carburetor is or why it is even there. As such, we will divide this topic between two areas. In this chapter, we will provide you with an introduction to our 10-question approach to the evaluation of any strip. In Chapter 40, Putting It All Together, we revisit these same questions (with some slight modification). However, that discussion will include more advanced information appropriate to your knowledge base at that point in the book. That review, as the title emphasizes, will use all the clinical data available to you in order to approach the patient’s presentation in its entirety, thereby maximizing the likelihood of a positive outcome.
After the review of the 10 questions, we give a brief synopsis of all of the rhythms and the atrioventricular (AV) blocks for your familiarity before moving deeper through the material in subsequent chapters. If you know nothing about arrhythmias, this could appear a bit daunting at first; trust us, you will be amazed at how quickly you pick up this information. Just study Section 1, then come back and review the rhythms again.
Once you are familiar with the basics, the individual rhythms will be covered in their own chapters. In general, the chapters are short, and full of graphics and examples that are really easy to grasp!