The nurse obtains an ECG monitor strip and makes the following analysis: no apparent P waves, ventricular rate 152 beats per minute and regular, and narrow QRS complex (0.08). How would the nurse interpret this rhythm?
1. Ventricular fibrillation
2. Sinus tachycardia
3. Atrial fibrillation
4. Supraventricular tachycardia
4
Rationale 1: Ventricular fibrillation would have no P waves and no QRS complexes.
Rationale 2: There are no apparent P waves; thus it cannot be called "sinus" tachycardia.
Rationale 3: Atrial fibrillation does not have P waves, but it is always irregular.
Rationale 4: Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a tachycardia generated somewhere above the ventricles. This general term encompasses all fast (tachy) rhythms with normal QRS complexes and heart rates greater than 100 beats per minute.
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