First let me say this...I am NOT asking questions for any homework assignment or anything of that nature at all.
With that being said..I am really struggling with cardiac rhythms (especially) and interventions. I PRIDE myself on being the kind of person who asks to understand and doesn't strive to make mistakes with some silly confidence that I know everything...I don't and don't pretend to. I am truly terrified of not knowing this information when it counts and letting a patient down.
It is just soooo overwhelming!
Does anyone have any good resources that explains cardiac care in simple terms ( as simple as cardiac care can be I guess..haha) Or any kind of sayings or things that work for you to recognize when things are going bad. Our book is like reading Arabic and who better to ask about nursing then my good ole nursing friends on here!
AND PLEASE constructive criticism if you have any at all. Yes I realize I am a senior nursing student and I do know somethings and interventions, have been in codes and have wonderful clinic experience and it seems to all come together in the moment...BUT testing is not done in the moment. I could probably bs and get thru a test BUT I WANT to learn it and be a good, SAFE nurse.
Everyone gets bent out of shape about Lead II. It's the most common one but it's not the best one. It's used because it's positive. You're right, different leads are used to get information on different parts of the heart, and certain leads give better views of dysrhythmias than others.
Just remember, when you're doing an EKG, you're taking pictures of the electrical activity of the heart, by using the electrodes to from "pie slices" via an Einthoven triagle. Those leads have a positive and negative sensor, and lead 2 is important (especially in a 3 lead system) as it is the one that goes thru the L then R ventricle -- you can afib all day long, I want to know what the pump section of the heart is doing. It's like a sonar image of the heart, except it's picking up the electrical activity.
Some key things to remember, that I remember being tested on....
For Asystole - Give EPI and Atropine
For sinus Tach- correct the underlying cause
For V-fib- Defibrillate
Know when to give CPR. If the patient is found without pulse always give CPR. If patient is found with pulse and hemadynamically stable I think you can defibrillate.
The ECG book helped me out alot. Good luck. I know its not easy stuff to grasp.
The AHA changed the guidelines. It is no longer recommended to give Atropine for asystole or slow PEA. Atropine is now only given for bradycardia.
Some key things to remember, that I remember being tested on....
For Asystole - Give EPI and Atropine
For sinus Tach- correct the underlying cause
For V-fib- Defibrillate
Know when to give CPR. If the patient is found without pulse always give CPR. If patient is found with pulse and hemadynamically stable I think you can defibrillate.
The ECG book helped me out alot. Good luck. I know its not easy stuff to grasp.
I second Dr. Najeeb!!! His lectures are LONG but he keeps it interesting and really explains (shows) what the leads mean in simple language. He is teaching medical students and goes in depth but is still really easy to follow. I also like icufaq.org and skillstat as other people have mentioned but Dr. Najeeb goes back through the A&P of it all and really relates it to the EKG. Very good!!!
NeoPediRN
945 Posts
Everyone gets bent out of shape about Lead II. It's the most common one but it's not the best one. It's used because it's positive. You're right, different leads are used to get information on different parts of the heart, and certain leads give better views of dysrhythmias than others.