Arrhythmia

PREAPRED BY;

Moneer al-aliowh

SUPERVISED BY;

D, yshmen al-fholy

Outline;

-DefinitionCauses-

-Signs & symptoms-Complication

-ECG criteria-Treatment

-Nursing intervention

What is an arrhythmia?

An arrhythmia is a change in the regular beat of the heart. The heart may seem to skip a beat or beat irregularly or very fast or very slowly

What Causes Arrhythmia?

Many types of heart disease cause arrhythmia. 1- Coronary disease 2- Some people are born with arrhythmias,

meaning the condition is congenital. 3-Atherosclerosis.4- Other medical conditions such as diabetes

and high blood pressure. stress, caffeine, smoking, alcohol,

Symptoms of Arrhythmia

The most common symptoms of arrhythmia are:1-palpitations or rapid thumping in your chest 2-feeling tired or light-headed 3-loosing consciousness 4-shortness of breath

5-chest pain.

Complications;• Stroke• Congestive heart failure

How are arrhythmias treated?1-Drugs;

One or more drugs may be used. 2-Cardioversion;

To quickly restore a heart to its normal rhythm, After cardioversion, drugs are usually prescribed to prevent the arrhythmia from

recurring. 3-Automatic implantable defibrillators;

These devices are used to correct serious ventricular arrhythmias that can lead to sudden death.

4-Artificial pacemaker;

An artificial pacemaker can take charge of sending electrical signals to make the heart beat if the heart's natural pacemaker is not working properly or its electrical pathway is blocked. During a simple operation, this electrical device is placed under the skin. it is permanently anchored.

5-Surgery;When an arrhythmia cannot be controlled by other treatments, doctors may perform surgery. After locating the heart tissue that is causing the arrhythmia, the tissue is altered or removed so that it will not produce the arrhythmia

ECG criteria;

1.After finding out the patient's medical history,

begin by labeling the P wave, PR interval, QRS complex, QT interval and T wave.

2-Calculate the atrial and ventricular heart rates.

60-100 beats per minute is normal

3- Determine if the rhythm is regular or irregular done by observe the RR intervals and PP intervals are regularly spaced.

If the rhythm is irregular, determine if: i. It is occasionally irregular ii. Regularly irregular

  iii. Irregularly irregular

Regular rhythm

Irregular rhythm

4-Evaluate the waveform of the EKG in detail for additional clues:

a.Determine the shape of the P-wave. Normally, P-

waves are upright and each P wave is related to a QRS complex. If inverted, the impulse is spreading from the ventricles to the atria in a retrograde manner.

b.Determine if the PR interval is of normal length

(0.12-0.2 seconds).

C-Examine the QRS complexes and determine if the QRS complex is wide or narrow. Narrow QRS complexes (less than 0.12 sec) indicate that the rhythm is supraventricular (originating from above the ventricles). Wide QRS complexes (longer than 0.12 sec), indicate that the rhythm is originating in the ventricles or that there is an intraventicular block

d.Determine if the ST segment is displaced from the mid-line.

Nursing intervention;-Monitoring and management the

arrhythmia by;1-Evaluates blood pressure, pulse

rate and rhythm2-Evaluates rate and depth of

respiration, and breath sounds3-Asks patient about

lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting

4-Obtain a12-lead ECG, continuously monitor the patient & analyze rhythm strips if patient in hospital.

5-Assesses and observes antiarrhythmia effectivensse

Thank you