What are some causes of bradycardia?

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

All my A&P book talks about is nodes misfiring and such. Not much help for assignments. What causes bradycardia?

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Specializes in ICU.

Good health - no seriously. Bradycardia is defined as a pulse rate

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Well lets see -

It could be due to medications

Hypothyroidism

Electrolyte disorders

Sick Sinus syndrome (cardiovascular disease)

Infection

Hypoglycemia

Increased intercranial pressure -

(Feels like I am taking a test!)

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
Good health - no seriously. Bradycardia is defined as a pulse rate

The book said that. I was thinking more along the lines of undesirable causes. I've got nada.

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma.

Medications is a big one esp beta blockers. Also Dig toxicity.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Low potassium levels will do it most effectively. This is how people's hearts are stopped when they are executed by lethal injection. That should qualify as an undesireable cause for you.

I was also thinking that suffocation (oxygen deprivation), or maybe it's carbon dioxide buildup, will do it too.

Are you looking for things like deliberate acts that cause the bradycardia or more like untoward reactions to treatments? Or, or you looking for the physiological explanation of the dying heart and bradycardia?

I will see if I can pull out some more information on this. You might also want to pose this question to the nurses over on the Cardiac Nursing Forum. I'm sure they will be able to inform you.

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.
Low potassium levels will do it most effectively. This is how people's hearts are stopped when they are executed by lethal injection. That should qualify as an undesireable cause for you.

I was also thinking that suffocation (oxygen deprivation), or maybe it's carbon dioxide buildup, will do it too.

Are you looking for things like deliberate acts that cause the bradycardia or more like untoward reactions to treatments? Or, or you looking for the physiological explanation of the dying heart and bradycardia?

I will see if I can pull out some more information on this. You might also want to pose this question to the nurses over on the Cardiac Nursing Forum. I'm sure they will be able to inform you.

Basically I'm looking for causes of bradycardia that you don't want, be it deliberate, like lethal injection, or physiological.

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