EKG Question #13
Question
The nurse is caring for a client with a pacemaker and determines that the ventricular pacing is present and has and abnormal appearance per the following electrocardiogram (ECG). The nurse interprets the finding as:
Answers
- Junctional rhythm with consecutive PVCs
- Rationale:
- Accelerated ventricular fibrillation with PVCs
- Rationale:
- Ventricular pacing with a triplet of PVCs
- Rationale:
- Salvo of PVCs related to idioventricular arrhythmia
- Rationale:
Overview
Explanation
The best description of the ECG strip is ventricular pacing (identify the pacing), with triplet PVCs (three at a time). This could also be interpreted as a short run of V-tach. Triplets are also called salvo PVCs. In the selections from the strip, junctional rhythms will usually have a normal QRS even though the P waves may or may not be visible; ventricular fibrillation is not named as accelerated and will have unmeasurable rate, absent P waves, and ECG tracings as wavy lines; salvo of PVCs is a correct term, but the ECG strip does not represent idioventricular arrhythmia since the heart rate is between 50-60 and idioventricular rates are usually lower than 40 beats per minute.