Atrial Fibrillation Essay

This case study discusses the management of a 68 year old male who presented with chest palpitations secondary to rapid atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac arrhythmia with serious complications if not treated correctly. This essay will discuss the initial clinical presentation of the patient and examine the management and outcome of the interventions applied. The significance of atrial fibrillation including its pathophysiology and aetiology will also be discussed.

In December of 1992, my paternal grandfather suffered a heart attack. He had been hauling several 50 lb. sacks of corn up into the deer feeder on his property by himself. He got into his truck, turned the ignition, put it into drive and before he could take his foot off the brake, he was dead. He was 68 years old. I was thirteen and that seemed so old. I remember that prior to the event there were many conversations within my family about the condition of my grandfather’s heart and cardiovascular system and how he needed to make lifestyle changes. I remember him taking nitroglycerine pills. I remember him coming to Dallas to go to an appointment so that they could perform tests with names like “stress EKG.” I

The EKG Technician is the person responsible for performing diagnostic tests to access the heart rhythm and rate in patients. EKG technician is an integral part of the management of patients with heart disease. The EKG Technician may also clean equipment, maintain and process data reports. The course will prepare students with the theory, academics and clinical education necessary to function as an entry level EKG technician. This course may be taken as a module toward completion of the PCT program, or it may be taken independently as an individual skills course. The course structure will consist of introduction to EKG, applied EKG and clinical EKG.

Most physicians and people who acquired the problem usually know it as A-FIB, a shorter term for atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation deals with the cardiovascular system, in particular, the heart in the body. It is defined as, “the electrical signals that control this system are off-kilter. Instead of working together the atria do their own thing, causing fast fluttering heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia” (WEBMD). In a normal pumping blood of the heart the atria would squeeze first, followed by the ventricles of the heart. A-fib can be a serious issue if not treated, due to the inadequate pumping of the blood, causing a higher chance of heart failure. It is also a higher chance in getting a stroke, because improper flow of the blood can cause clots in the

12 Lead Electrocardiogram (ECG) - There are typical changes to the normal pattern of the ECG in a heart attack. Patterns that occur include pathological Q waves and ST elevation (Koutoukidis, Stainton & Hughson 2013, p. 505). However, it is possible to have a normal ECG even if a patient has had a heart attack. The indicators for this test include: suspected myocardial infarction, suspected pulmonary embolism, perceived cardiac dysrhythmias, fainting or collapse, a third heart sound, fourth heart sound, a cardiac murmur or other findings to indicate structural heart disease. The

physical release of all the energy built up in the body does not actually take

I chose this team and this topic because I am a nurse who recently started working in a CCU. We take care of cardiac patients, and we have to closely monitor their heart rhythms. So, I would like to learn to better identify dysrhythmias, to improve competency assessments, and to better implement current evidence-based practices.

Today millions of Americans live or have lived with Atrial fibrillation. The main concern with this health issue is that many people who lived with it sometimes are not aware of it. Atrial fibrillation is defined by Mayo Clinic (2012) as “an irregular and often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow to the body”. It occurs when the four chambers of the heart have a disrupted rhythm. The abnormal functionality of health may lead to a stroke because of the possible blood clot that will be formed. The Atrial fibrillation or Afib put the body in a situation without oxygen and nutrients because the body is not well supplied by a heart that is became weak. In general, only few people will feel change in their heartbeat. They may verbalize

Particularly heart beat irregularities (atrial fibrillation), disease of the heart valves, congestive heart failure or recent heart attack.

An dysrhythmia of the heart is an irregular heartbeat rhythm. Ventricular tachycardia is an dysrhythmia in which the lower chambers of the heart, the ventricles, beat unusually fast.

The cardiac cycle describes the coordinated and rhythmic series of muscular contractions associated with the normal heart beat.

Follow a systematic palpate the sternoclavicular, aortic, pulmonic, tricuspid and epigastric areas using a systematic sequence. Using the ball of hand find the apical pulse then tips of finger over the precordium. Note abnormal finding such as heaves, thrills and fine vibration (purring cat). Palpate the other arterial pulses by pressing with the pads of your index and middle finger. Start at the temporal artery and work down to the dorsalis pedis pulse. Abnormal finding such week pulse could be due to cold weather or can indicate sever heart failure or peripheral vascular disease. Strong or bounding pulsations usually occur in a patient with a condition that causes increased cardiac output, such as hypertension, hypoxia, anemia, exercise, or anxiety. A thrill usually suggests a valvular dysfunction.

Regular electrical impulses are sent within the conduction system of the heart prompting contraction (Marieb, 2015). These electrical signals can be identified and documented by the use of an electrocardiography (ECG) machine. In a familiar ECG recording, three waves will occur; The P wave, QRS complex and

The heart is one of the most important organs in an organism’s body, no matter if they are aquatic, amphibian, or a mammal. This super organ works automatically, able to pump massive amounts of oxygen rich blood through the body by means of electrical impulses and the opening and closing of valves within its many layers. It is what keeps us and every other creature on this earth alive; so it is only natural for one to fear when there might be a problem with one’s heart. A cardiac arrhythmia can happen to anyone, no matter the age, race, or gender, and as such, doctors and scientist have spent years trying to better understand the heart and the way it functions so that they can try to prevent these problems and save millions of lives.

One symptom is heart murmur. Heart murmur is when your heart makes swishing sound heard in you heart. Other symptoms that are typically known is shortness of breath. This can happen when exercising or doing some kind of body workout. These treatment can be treated by different kinds of things. This disorder can be treated by doing heart surgery or cardiac catheterization. For the surgery they will stitch up the hole with surgical materials or your body’s own tissue. Cardiac catheterization is when they put a flexible tube in your heart to insert a device in the hole to cover it. People who have atrial septal defect face fewer challenges in their daily