Today was my first day on the floor in my acute care clinical. I spent the morning in the Cardiac Observation Unit at St. Luke’s downtown. I had the opportunity to start an IV, and to see a Transesophageal Echocardiogram, or TEE, followed by a direct current cardioversion.
The patient had atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, which means the atrium of the heart was not conducting current correctly so she had irregular atrial contraction. Atrial fibrillation is the most common dysrhythmia in the USA, affecting approximately 1 in 136 adults. Atrial rate can be over 350 beats per minute with a-fib, and ventricular contractions from 50-180 bpm. A-fib can cause pooling or collecting of blood in the atrium that increases the chance of blood clot formation. These blood clots can dislodge and pass to the brain and cause a stroke.
Top: A-fib heart rhythm, Bottom: Normal Sinus Rhythm
