Emergency Cardiac Monitoring Flashcards
7 cards from real CET practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Emergency Cardiac Monitoring flashcards as text
The Brugada pattern on an ECG is characterized by:
Answer: Coved-type ST elevation in V1–V2 with RBBB morphology
The classic Brugada pattern shows a coved-type (downsloping) ST elevation ≥2 mm in V1–V2 with an incomplete or complete RBBB appearance.
During an emergency, a patient develops third-degree AV block. The MOST reliable backup pacemaker in this setting originates from the:
Answer: Purkinje fibers or ventricular myocardium
In complete heart block with no conduction through the AV node, an escape rhythm arises from ventricular tissue (Purkinje fibers) at a rate of 20–40 bpm.
A patient receiving IV amiodarone has a QTc of 560 ms on telemetry. The ECG technician should:
Answer: Immediately notify the nurse or physician
A QTc ≥500 ms significantly increases the risk of torsades de pointes and requires immediate clinical notification.
Which of the following best describes 'demand' pacemaker function during emergency monitoring?
Answer: Paces only when the heart rate falls below a programmed rate
A demand pacemaker senses intrinsic cardiac activity and delivers a pacing stimulus only when the native rate drops below the programmed lower rate limit.
On a monitor, a patient shows a regular wide-complex tachycardia at 150 bpm. A useful bedside clue that favors VT over SVT with aberrancy is:
Answer: AV dissociation visible on the rhythm strip
AV dissociation — P waves marching independently of QRS complexes — strongly supports ventricular tachycardia as the diagnosis.
Which lead placement error would cause the P wave to appear inverted in lead I?
Answer: RA and LA electrodes reversed
Reversing the right arm (RA) and left arm (LA) electrodes inverts the polarity of lead I, causing the P wave and QRS to appear negative in that lead.
During emergency monitoring of a post-cardiac arrest patient, the ECG shows R-on-T phenomenon. This is clinically significant because it:
Answer: Can trigger ventricular fibrillation
R-on-T occurs when a premature ventricular beat falls on the vulnerable period of the T wave, which can precipitate ventricular fibrillation.