A client's ECG reveals a rapid atrial rate of 300 beats/min, and the P waves resemble a picket fence without 1:1 conduction. The nurse would identify this dysrhythmia as
a. atrial fibrillation.
b. atrial flutter.
c. paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.
d. sinoatrial block.
B
Atrial flutter is a dysrhythmia arising in an ectopic pacemaker or the site of a rapid reentry circuit in the atria, characterized by rapid "saw-toothed" atrial wave formations and usually a slower ventricular response. Atrial flutter differs from PAT in that it produces a much more rapid atrial rate. The P waves are actually inverted or bidirectional, producing a "picket fence" or saw-toothed pattern of "fluttering waves." The atrial rate generally ranges from 220 to 350 beats/min.
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