need your help! this will be on my resp exam on wed =)

[Sera]

So one of our instructors gave us a heads up on a question for an upcoming exam.

How can a ECG be regular, when a radial pulse is irregular?

I have no idea what the answer is.. tried finding it in my textbook but nothing Apparantly it is just one word?

 

[akflightmedic]

Me thinks he may be asking about sinus arrythmia....????


I have it, very normal common condition.

Normal ECG of course however my pulse goes up and down continuously with respirations.

As I inhale, my pulse goes up significantly and as I exhale it bradys. And the variance is quite significant. For example, I can be low 70s on exhale and greater than 100 on inhale.

Hope that is what they are asking for.....

 

[sdadam]

He might be talking about Pulseless Electrical Activity (also known by the older term Electromechanical Dissociation or Non-Perfusing Rhythm) though most of the time the ECG would read as random electrical pulses it can read as a normal rythm, and yet there would be no actual contractions of the heart to cause a pulse.

maybe?

 

[akflightmedic]

She said it was going to be on her respiratory exam, so I dont think they are throwing in PEA on this one.

 

[Sera]

Me thinks he may be asking about sinus arrythmia....????


I have it, very normal common condition.

Normal ECG of course however my pulse goes up and down continuously with respirations.

As I inhale, my pulse goes up significantly and as I exhale it bradys. And the variance is quite significant. For example, I can be low 70s on exhale and greater than 100 on inhale.

Hope that is what they are asking for.....

thats what we all thought it was too (even went and asked another instructor and she said it was that) but apparantly it's not the answer =/

 

[Tincanfireman]

I would assume that there will be more than one question on the test, and that this is something that was covered in class or in the text. If you've searched the text and your notes, remember that it's only one question out of many. I've had instructors who try to throw in left-field questions, only to be called on it when everyone in the class missed it. Take the test, do your best, then compare answers when the results come back with your classmates and deal with it then. Good Luck...

 

[Ridryder911]

The other way if irregular pulses with a normal ECG is an occulussion of that extremity..or non-pefusion beats, which occurs sometimes (especially in tachy arrythmias).

R/r 911

 

[Guardian]

Have you ever heard of regularly irregular or irregularly irregular. These are actual cardiology terms. In your case, it would be a regularly irregular rhythm. This means that the heart is not beating exactly like it should but it is doing the same thing over and over. Ex. If the heart is going (beat, beat, miss a beat, beat, beat, miss a beat, beat, beat, miss a beat) then the heart beat is not regular because it's not supposed to miss a beat but the rhythm on the monitor is regular because it's not changing.

 

[Medivixen]

it could be any regular rythym with PVC's. FOr example a sinus rythym with PVC's. We dont count PVC's as part of a rythym they are a complex. It would be on your resp exam b/c PVC's are most commonly caused by hypoxia.

 

[Tincanfireman]

The suspense is killing us!!

So, what was the mystery question???

 

[Sera]

the answer ended up being "Pulsis Paradoxis"

 

[Guardian]

the answer ended up being "Pulsis Paradoxis"

Q. How can a ECG be regular, when a radial pulse is irregular? A. pulsus paradoxus. I kinda see it after thinking about it for a minute. That must be a tough class you're in because that's a tough question. My hat's off to you.