Читать книгу Understanding Anatomy and Physiology in Nursing - John Knight - Страница 99

Nurses routinely monitor ECGs, looking for changes in heart rate and rhythm. Most modern machines will provide an alert if a rhythm disturbance is detected. The P wave, QRS complex and T wave are repeated, with each heart beat resulting in the standard sinus rhythm that nurses observe on an ECG machine. The distance and timing between QRS complexes on an ECG trace provide an accurate measure of the patient’s current heart rate. Most ECG machines calculate this automatically to display a real-time reading of the heart rate.

Recording of an ECG may be deemed necessary in many circumstances including:

 irregular heart beat (palpitations);

 chest pain (angina pectoris);

 suspected myocardial infarction (heart attack);

 suspected electrolyte disturbances/imbalances;

 loss of consciousness (syncope);

 bradycardia (slow heart rate) or tachycardia (rapid heart rate);

 to investigate the condition of the myocardium, in conditions such as heart failure, cardiomyopathy or long-standing hypertension.