Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Echocardiography is the best tool for diagnosing pericardial effusion or tamponade. It not only demonstrates the presence of a pericardial effusion but can also detect hemodynamic abnormalities.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Pulsus paradoxus (PP) is an exaggerated decrease in systolic blood pressure (>12 mm Hg) during inspiration secondary to reduced stroke volume. Patients with moderate to severe tamponade typically demonstrate PP greater than 20 mm Hg.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Stab wounds cause tamponade more frequently because if the pericardial injury is small, it can reseal and trap blood within the pericardial space. On the other hand, a gunshot typically produces both large myocardial and pericardial wounds.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
External cardiac puncture is associated with stab wounds or projectile injuries (e.g., gunshot wounds). Tamponade develops in 80% to 90% of patients with cardiac stab wounds as opposed to 20% of those with gunshot wounds.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Penetrating cardiac trauma can cause acute hemopericardium by either external forces (e.g., a stab wound to the heart) or internal forces (e.g., iatrogenic injury during placement of a pacemaker).

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
The major categories of pericardial effusion include infection, inflammation, malignancy, trauma and metabolic abnormalities. The effusion may also be associated with aortic disease, connective tissue disease or idiopathic causes.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
The pericardium is a tense structure, but it also has some elasticity. These properties limit the amount of cardiac dilation that is possible during diastole and enhance mechanical interactions between the atria and ventricles during systole.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
A pericardial effusion is the presence of fluid within the pericardial space. As fluid accumulates, a critical point is reached at which pericardial pressure negatively affects cardiac filling and causes circulatory insufficiency.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Pacemakers have a reed switch that may be closed by placing a magnet over the generator externally on the chest wall. This inactivates the sensing mechanism of the pacemaker, which then reverts to an asynchronous rate.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
The pacemaker is typically programmed to pace at a rate of 60 to 80 beats/min. A significantly different rate usually indicates a malfunction. When the battery is low, the rate generally begins to drop and gets slower as the battery fades.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
The typical pacemaker entry point for inserting the leads is the central venous system via the subclavian or cephalic vein. The terminal electrodes are placed either in the right ventricle or in both the right ventricle and the atrium.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Pacemaker wires are embedded in plastic catheters. The terminal electrodes, which may be unipolar or bipolar, travel from the generator unit to the heart via the venous system.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Pacemakers are classified according to a standard five-letter code. The fourth letter refers to the pacemaker's rate modulation and programmability, and the fifth describes the pacemaker's ability to provide an anti-tachycardia function.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Pacemakers are classified according to a standard five-letter code. The first letter designates the chamber that receives the pacing current, the second, the sensing chamber, and the third, the pacemaker's response to sensing.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
In essence, a pacemaker consists of an electrical pulse–generating device and a lead system that senses intrinsic cardiac signals and then delivers a pulse. The pulse generator is hermetically sealed with a lithium-based battery device.