Atrial Fibrillation
- General information
- An arrhythmia in which ectopic foci cause rapid, irregular contractions of the heart
- Commonly seen in clients with rheumatic mitral stenosis, thyrotoxicosis, cardiomyopathy, hypertensive heart disease, pericarditis, and coronary heart disease
- Assessment findings
- Rate
- Atrial: 350-600 beats/minute
- Ventricular: varies between 100-160 beats/minute
- Rhythm: atrial and ventricular regularly irregular
- P wave: no definite P wave; rapid undulations called fibrillatory (f) waves
- P-R interval: not measurable
- QRS complex: generally normal
- Treatment: digitalis preparations, propranolol, verapamil in conjunction with digitalis; direct-current cardioversion
Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Labels:
cardiovascular disorder
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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008
and is filed under
cardiovascular disorder
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