Term | Definition |
Bradycardia | Less than 60 bpm
Why? Long term pain, medications, hypothermia, resting, sleeping, heart block. |
Hypertensive crisis | Diastolic blood pressure is dramatically elevated.
Diastolic (bottom #) BP above 120-130
Needs to be treated quickly to prevent damage to the heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes. |
Telemetry Lead Placement | White to the Right (right upper chest)
Clouds over Grass (Green bottom right)
Smoke over Fire (Red below left breast. Black upper)
Chocolate close to hear |
Shock | Something happens, as a result theres is an insufficient amount of blood being pumped to the heart to carry oxygen to the tissues.
*BP \/, Pulse /\, Respirations /\
*clammy, cool
*pale
*may become unresponsive |
Septicemia | Pathogens are present in the blood stream.
*infection throughout the body
* can result in death
*temps above 101
*usually respond to treatment with IV antibiotics |
Narrowing Pulse Pressure | Normal pulse pressures are 40-50
Numbers narrowing can indicate a serious problem with the hearts ability to pump blood.
*EXTREMELY important to notice and report to charge nurse. |
Normal Pulse Pressure | Normal 40-50 |
Telemetry | Battery powered transmitter that continuously monitors patients heart rate and rhythm.
3-5 leads
ambulatory
continuous monitorying |
Auscultatory Gap | Temporary disappearance of sound occurs between the 1st and 2nd korotkoff sounds
*often heard in pts with hypertension (HTN) |
Korotkoff Sounds | Pulsating sounds when reading blood pressure |
Orthostatic Hypotension | When BP drops from standing up too fast from standing up too fast. |
Hypertension | Sustained elevated pressure above 140/90.
*based on 2 separate readings on 2 separate days. |
Normal Adult BP | 100-140/ 60-90 |
Normal Child BP | 100-110/65 |
Normal Infant BP | 78/42 |
Diastolic | relax,
Pressure in the artery between beats.
*relax and refill |
Systolic | squeeze,
1st Normal sound heard. Ventricles contracting and forcing blood. |
Blood Pressure | Arterial Pressure
Pressure exerted by circulating volume of blood on arterial walls, veins, and chambers of heart.
Millimeters of mercury (mmHg) |
Left Ventricle | Pushing out of heart to the body. |
Right Ventricle | Pushing into heart from body. |
Core Temp | Temp of the deep tissue of the body.
*remains relatively consistent. |
Inspiration | INhaling. Breathing IN oxygen to the lungs. |
Thready Pulse | Difficult to feel and disappears easily, when only slight pressure is applied. |
Weak Pulse | Pulse is not felt when light pressure is applied to wrist |
Bounding Pulse | More volume than usual. Stronger than normal.
*easily felt with light palpation
*(3+)
*feels full and spring like, even under moderate pressure, |
Dyspnea | Difficult/ painful respirations
Difficulty breathing |
Apnea | Lack of spontaneous respirations or not breathing |
Hyperventilation | rate of ventilations exceeds normal requirements for exchange of respiratory gases
usually amounts to an increase in rate and depth of respirations |
Hypoventilation | Rate of ventilation entering lungs is insufficient for metabolic needs
usually amounts to a decrease in rate and depth of respirations |
Altered Tissue Perfusion | Blood Supply
pale color
coldness of extremity |
Amplitude | Volume of blood pushing against the artery wall with each beat.
*How strong is it? |
Dysrhythmia | Any disturbance or abnormality in a normal rhythmic pattern. |
Factors that affect pulse rate? | *patients age
*gender
*emotional state
*size
*temp
*heart condition
*amount of physical activity
*medications |
Tachycardia | Faster than 100 BPM
*Fever, some medications, acute pain, feaer/anxiety, shock, exercise, hemorrhage |
What to check for in the pulse? | Rate - Beats per min
Rhythm - regular or irregular
Strength - weak, thready, or bounding |
Hypothermia | Low body temp
Below 93.2 |
Constant Fever | Remains elevated consistently and fluctuate very little. |
Intermittent Fever | Rise and fall, spikes and returns to normal. |
Remitten Fever | Rises and falls but wont go away until patient is well. |
Auscultate | Listen for sounds within the body to evaluate the condition of heart, lung, pleura, and other organs or detect fetal heart tones. |
Surface Temperature | Temp of skin |
Tachypnea | Rapid resp. rate above 20 RPM.
*can be caused by exercise |
Bradypnea | slow repiratory rate less than 12 RPM |
Equation to find Celcius | C = (F-32) x 5/9 |
Equation to find Fahrenheit | F = (9/5 x C) + 32 |
What causes high temperature inaccuracies? | *smoking
*drinking/eating hot stuff
*infant or child
*taken only in evenings?
*exercise
*hot environment
*stress
*INFECTION? |
What causes low temperature inaccuracies? | *cold food/drink
*elderly
*taken in AM
*environment
*chronic disease |
Pyrexia
*Febrile
*Hyperthermia | above normal body temp.
/\ 105 can damage normal body cells |
Pulse Pressure | difference between systolic and diastolic |
Pulse Deficit | difference found between the apical and radial rates
*must be checked by two people at the same time. |
hypothalamus | regulates body temp. |
Adult Pulse | 60-100
*average 80 |
Tympanic Temperature | Taken in the ear drum.
No infants under 6 months |
apical pulse | represents the actual beating of the heart |