Arrhythmia Recognition: The Art of Interpretation

1. Which of the following is NOT a way in which rapid heart rates affect the hemodynamic status of the patient?

A. Relative ischemia can develop due to increased myocardial oxygen demand.

B. The venous return is decreased.

C. Ventricular filling times are decreased.

D. End-diastolic volume (the amount of blood in the ventricle at the end of diastole) is decreased.

E. The atrial kick is lost or diminished, causing less ventricular “overfilling.”

2. Focused treatment requires _________ identification of the arrhythmia.

3. The rate is the most important factor in the differential diagnosis of a narrow-complex tachycardia. True or False.

4. The three irregularly irregular SVTs include (fill in the blanks):

A. ____________ ____________

B. ____________ ____________ ____________

C. ____________ ____________ with ____________ block

5. A narrow-complex tachycardia at 200 BPM that has a small variability of anywhere between 0.04 and 0.06 seconds between the QRS complexes is still considered regular. True or False.

6. If there are no P waves visible on the strip, the diagnosis that most likely fits the description of the rhythm mentioned in question 5 is ____________ ____________.

7. The presence of a P wave and the exact location of the P wave in relation to the QRS complex are probably the most important things to look for when establishing the differential diagnosis of a narrow-complex SVT. True or False.

8. The presence of a pseudo-S or pseudo-R’ wave in a patient with a narrow-complex tachycardia above 140 BPM favors the diagnosis of ____________ (acronym).

9. Defining the start and the end of any SVT is not that critical in the evaluation of the differential diagnosis of the rhythm. True or False.

10. Which of the following is NOT an acceptable treatment strategy for a patient in sinus tachycardia?

A. Administer oxygen.

B. Administer fluids.

C. Administer acetaminophen.

D. Administer morphine.

E. Perform electrical cardioversion.