Part 4 (Cont)
Treat the patient, not the monitor.
Loose, or dried out sensors (electrodes) or broken cables may cause a tracing to appear much the same as one of these life-threatening dysrhythmias.
Part 5
What appears to be Ventricular Tachycardia might occur because the patient is brushing their teeth. This is referred to as "toothbrush tachycardia".
- This is caused by the repetitive body movement when brushing your teeth.
- This is not an actual cardiac event.
- Remember if you have an unresponsive patient, call a "code blue" (follow your facility's protocol) and begin emergency procedures.
Part 6
A variety of manufacturers offer a wide variety of cardiac monitors. A majority will have three or five cables. We will focus on the most common type today, the three-cable device.