Lecture 3 Cardiac Medications, Cardiac rhythms, Chest tubes, Newborn Heart Defects, Isolation Precau

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Lecture 3 Cardiac Medications, Cardiac rhythms, Chest tubes, Newborn Heart
Defects, Isolation Precautions
Cardiac Medications
- Calcium Channel Blockers :
- Calcium channel blockers are like Valium (sedative) for your heart .
- Valium calms you down, which means calcium channel blockers calm the
heart down
- Example: if at patients heart is tachycardic a calcium channel blocker
will calm the heart and reduce the heart rate.
- Calcium channel blockers should only be used if the heart needs to rest . If it
does not need a rest, do not give calcium channel blockers.
- Calcium channel blockers classification:
- Negative Inotropic : weaken force of muscular contractions.
- Negative Chronotropic : decrease heart rate through electrical conduction.
- Negative Dromotropic : slows the electrical conduction through the heart.
- Together these effects calm the heart down.
- When would a Calcium channel blocker be used?
- A : A nti Hypertensive: relax heart and blood vessels.
- AA : A nti A ngina drugs: relax the heart, which decreases oxygen demand.
- AAA : A nti A trial A rrhythmia : treats atrial arrhythmias.
- Side effects:
- H and H : Headache and Hypotension
- Names of Calcium channel blockers:
- Calcium channel blockers are any medication ending in “ di pine ”
- Examples - Amlo dipine
- Felo dipine Has to have the “ di ” before “pine”

- Nife dipine
- There are two Calcium channel blockers that do not end in “dipine”.
- Verapamil
- Diltiazem (Cardizem): only one that can be on continuous drip.
- When on a calcium channel blocker you must monitor blood pressure .
- Do not give a Calcium channel blocker if systolic is below 100 .
Cardiac rhythms
- Must know these 4 cardiac rhythms by sight.
1. Normal sinus rhythm .
- There is a P wave before each QRS complex followed by a T wave
- Each P wave is equal in size and length and the QRS follows an equal rhythm
2. Ventricular Fibrillation ( v-fib )
- Chaotic squiggly line ( no pattern )
3. Ventricular Tachycardia ( v-tach )
- Sharp, jagged lines that follows a pattern .
4. Asystole

- No conduction of a heart beat.
- Terminology:
- QRS depolarization always relates to ventricular
- A lack of QRS waves means asystole
- P wave is always related to atrial.