Overview
Introduction
A dysrhythmia becomes clinically dangerous when the abnormal electrical pattern reduces effective cardiac output, causes myocardial ischemia, or permits thrombus formation.
A dysrhythmia becomes clinically dangerous when the abnormal electrical pattern reduces effective cardiac output, causes myocardial ischemia, or permits thrombus formation. The monitor may show an unusual rhythm, but the patient’s pulse, blood pressure, mental status, breathing, and skin perfusion determine urgency. Use a consistent sequence: confirm whether a pulse is present, assess for instability, identify the rhythm with ECG, and then match treatment to the rhythm and the patient’s response. A patient with pulseless ventricular tachycardia needs CPR and defibrillation; a patient with an unstable tachycardia and a pulse needs synchronized cardioversion. Those are different pathways.