A 67-year-old client is brought into the emergency room for treatment of a possible myocardial infarction. The nurse places ECG leads on the client's chest to check his cardiac rhythm. The client initially demonstrates sinus tachycardia but then rapidly transitions into ventricular fibrillation. Which best describes the heart rate associated with ventricular fibrillation?
a. Rapid and irregular
b. There is no rate because the client has a flat line
c. Rapid and regular, with a rate above 300 bpm
d. Uncoordinated depolarization of ventricles with no regular rate
d. Uncoordinated depolarization of ventricles with no regular rate
rationale: Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia that occurs when a client's heart is no longer beating in a standard rhythm, but instead quivers in an uncoordinated manner and does not pump blood. Ventricular fibrillation is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment with cardiac defibrillation
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