Ekg interpretation question

[Kaysmom8]

Hello,

Can anyone help me understand ekg's i'm so confused. When you start out your supposed to do the 5 steps:

P wave- normal is .12-.20

PRI- normal is .12-.20 or 3-5 small boxes wide

QRS- normal is .04-.10 or 1-2 1/2 small boxes wide

Rate- # of R waves in 6 seconds multiplied by 10

Rhythym- mark the R waves on paper and see if they match up

When I look at lead I and everything is upside down I don't know what any of the waves are? Is it the same criteria as above? From what I could find out the different leads are different angles of the heart?

How on earth will I ever remember the normals vs. the abnormals for all the rhythyms, junctions, blocks...

Any help is greatly apprecitated :) Thanks

[emerjensee]

Hello!

EKG's are pretty tricky sometimes, especially the 12 leads. I found a wonderful app for phones called "Instant ECG" that really helped break down the basics and gave a ton of examples of normal vs abnormal strips and 12 leads. It was only $0.99 and had a wealth of information!

As for the inverted waves, they are lead specific and are showing a negative deflection of energy due to the different angle. All of the intervals and lengths should be the same.

Hope this helps a little!

-emerjensee

[Kaysmom8]

Thank you, I'm a student nurse sorry I didn't mention that. I'm just starting out with all of this, it didn't help that the lecture we go on it was not taught very well and it left most of us confused.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Try learntheheart.com and skillstat.com, which had a great way of breaking down monitor rhythms...best information ever!!

Don't worry, lead interpretation can be tricky the first time...and in nursing school, you are going to get a slew of instructors that certain subjects may not be their forte...however, the Internet sites have a wealth of information (both sites were recommended by my nursing instructor in my acute care class...she is a ICU/CCU nurse). Hope this helps!!!