Goldsworthy - Compact Clinical Guide to Arrhythmia and 12-Lead EKG Interpretation

Compact Clinical Guide to

ARRHYTHMIA AND 12-LEAD
EKG INTERPRETATION

Sandra Goldsworthy, PhD, MSc, RN, CNCC(C), CMSN(C), is a recognized critical care expert, researcher, and author. She is the author or editor of six books, including Stimulation Simplified: A Practical Guide for Nurse Educators, Simulation Simplified: Student Lab Manual for Critical Care Nursing, and The Compact Clinical Guide for Mechanical Ventilation. She is an associate professor in the faculty of nursing at the University of Calgary, where she holds a research professorship in simulation education. She holds two national Canadian Nurses Association credentials in critical care and medicalsurgical nursing. She is a member of a number of national and international committees, including serving on the board of directors for the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses Association. Her research focus is on simulation and transfer of learning, job readiness, and transition of new graduates into critical care, and she has conducted and published research involving the use of simulation and technology in nursing education. Her recent publications and national and international presentations have concentrated on critical care nurse retention, critical care nurse work environments, and the use of simulation to build confidence and competence among nurses.

Compact Clinical Guide to

ARRHYTHMIA AND 12-LEAD
EKG INTERPRETATION

Foundations of Practice for Critical
Care Nurses

Sandra Goldsworthy, PhD, MSc, RN,
CNCC(C), CMSN(C)

Copyright 2016 Springer Publishing Company, LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Springer Publishing Company, LLC, or authorization through payment of the appropriate fees to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, .

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Composition: diacriTech

ISBN: 978-0-8261-9846-4

e-book ISBN: 978-0-8261-9847-1

PowerPoint ISBN: 978-0-8261-9629-3

Student supplements are available from www.springerpub.com/goldsworthy

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The author and the publisher of this Work have made every effort to use sources believed to be reliable to provide information that is accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. Because medical science is continually advancing, our knowledge base continues to expand. Therefore, as new information becomes available, changes in procedures become necessary. We recommend that the reader always consult current research and specific institutional policies before performing any clinical procedure. The author and publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers use of, or reliance on, the information contained in this book. The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Goldsworthy, Sandra, 1961-author.

Title: Compact clinical guide to arrhythmia and 12-lead ekg interpretation: foundations of practice for critical care nurses / Sandra Goldsworthy, PhD, RN, MSc, CNCC(C), CMSN(C).

Description: New York, NY : Springer Publishing Company, LLC, [2016] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016014653| ISBN 9780826198464 | ISBN 9780826198471 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ArrhythmiaDiagnosis. | ElectrocardiographyInterpretation. | HeartElectric properties.

Classification: LCC RC685.A65 G65 2016 | DDC 616.1/28dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016014653

Printed in the United States of America by Gasch Printing.

I dedicate this book to all the wonderful
nursing students whom I have had the privilege to
teach over the past 28 years. It has truly enriched
my life and it has been a pleasure.

Contents

Contents

Preface

One of the foundational competencies required of critical care nurses is the ability to interpret cardiac rhythms systematically. Failure to recognize and respond to dangerous arrhythmias could lead to serious life-threatening consequences for the patient.

Through my teaching of cardiac arrhythmia courses and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) to nurses and other health professionals over the past three decades, I have developed strategies to help bedside practitioners rapidly interpret abnormal cardiac rhythms and to determine how to prioritize interventions quickly. The amount of information on this topic can be overwhelming, and there are many different types of education available on the market about arrhythmia/12-lead EKGs. The goal of this text is to be user friendly by striking a balance between cue cards or a basic overview and text-dense lengthy explanations. This text is aimed at being a bedside reference small enough to carry in a nurses pocket, yet still containing enough detail to provide the nurse with critical information needed at the point of care.

The text begins with a brief overview of the anatomy and physiology related to the heart and its conduction system. The chapters that follow align with specific pacemaker sites related to arrhythmias (i.e., sinus, atrial, junctional, ventricular, atrioventricular [AV] heart blocks, and paced rhythms). In addition, an introduction to 12-lead EKGs is presented with content related to myocardial infarction.

The Compact Clinical Guide to Arrhythmia and 12-Lead EKG Interpretation: Foundations of Practice for Critical Care Nurses specifically includes a systematic approach to basic arrhythmia interpretation, examples, and explanations of all of the basic sinus, atrial, ventricular, and AV heart block arrhythmias; a systematic approach to 12-lead EKG interpretation; and a systematic approach to pacemaker rhythm interpretation and malfunction. To further consolidate your learning, each chapter ends with practice questions and a case study you can use to test yourself. Associated electronic resources that accompany this text are cue cards of systematic approaches for arrhythmia, 12-lead EKG, and pacemaker interpretation provided as a PowerPoint presentation that can be accessed from www.springerpub.com/goldsworthy. The most current guidelines are incorporated into this text, including the newest