Cardiac Monitoring & Emergency Response Flashcards
7 cards from real CCT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cardiac Monitoring & Emergency Response flashcards as text
A patient's monitor alarm triggers for a heart rate of 42 bpm with narrow QRS complexes and visible P waves before each QRS. What rhythm does this most likely represent?
Answer: Sinus bradycardia
A slow rate with a consistent 1:1 P-to-QRS relationship and narrow complexes indicates sinus bradycardia, where the SA node is simply firing slowly.
Which ECG pattern is associated with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome during normal sinus rhythm?
Answer: Short PR interval and delta wave
WPW is identified by a short PR interval (<0.12 s) and a delta wave (slurred upstroke of the QRS) caused by ventricular pre-excitation via an accessory pathway.
The cardiothoracic technician notices ST elevation in leads V1–V4 with reciprocal depression in II, III, and aVF. Which coronary artery is most likely occluded?
Answer: Left anterior descending artery (LAD)
The LAD supplies the anterior wall and septum; its occlusion causes ST elevation in precordial leads V1–V4 with reciprocal inferior changes.
When a patient's transcutaneous pacemaker is capturing at 70 bpm but the patient's pulse is absent, the most appropriate next action is:
Answer: Resume CPR immediately as pacemaker capture alone does not ensure perfusion
Electrical capture on the monitor does not guarantee mechanical contraction; the absence of a pulse means CPR must continue while the underlying cause is treated.
Hyperkalemia most commonly produces which ECG change as an early sign?
Answer: Tall peaked T waves
Elevated potassium first manifests as tall, narrow, peaked (tent-like) T waves before progressing to PR prolongation, wide QRS, and sine wave pattern.
What does a negative QRS deflection in lead I combined with a positive QRS in lead aVF indicate about the cardiac axis?
Answer: Right axis deviation
A negative QRS in lead I and positive QRS in aVF places the electrical axis in the right axis deviation range (between +90° and +180°).
A patient with an implanted pacemaker shows pacemaker spikes on the monitor but no following QRS complex. This finding is called:
Answer: Failure to capture
Failure to capture occurs when the pacemaker delivers an electrical impulse that does not depolarize the myocardium, resulting in a spike without a subsequent QRS.