The nurse obtains a rhythm strip on a patient who has had a myocardial infarction and makes the following analysis:
no visible P waves, P-R interval not measurable, ventricular rate 162, R-R interval regular, and QRS complex wide and distorted, QRS duration 0.18 second. The nurse interprets the patient's cardiac rhythm as
a. atrial flutter.
b. sinus tachycardia.
c. ventricular fibrillation.
d. ventricular tachycardia.
ANS: D
The absence of P waves, wide QRS, rate >150 beats/minute, and the regularity of the rhythm indicate ventricular tachycardia. Atrial flutter is usually regular, has a narrow QRS configuration, and has flutter waves present representing atrial activity. Sinus tachycardia has P waves. Ventricular fibrillation is irregular and does not have a consistent QRS duration.
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