The goal is to identify the cause and treat it because this will decrease the rate. Treatment and Nursing Interventions for Sinus Tachycardia Signs of decreased cardiac output include: hypotension (<90 SBP) and signs of heart failure may develop: pulmonary edema (crackles), extra heart sounds), decreased level of consciousness, increase capillary refill time, cool extremities, etc. This is because the ventricles don’t have enough time to fill completely so less blood is pumped out. Fast rates of 150 or greater actually decrease how much blood the ventricles can pump out to the body. In addition, if sinus tachycardia occurs for too long it can affect how well the heart can pump out blood. In turn, it could lead to a myocardial infraction. This is why some patients may complain of chest pain when their heart rate rises. If fatty plaques are limiting the blood flow, the heart muscle starts to become “ischemic” (it can die) and this causes the patient chest pain. But if the patient has plaque or a blockage (hence coronary artery disease) in those arteries, it limits how much oxygenated blood can be delivered to the heart muscle. Therefore, sitting on top of the heart muscle supplying it with all this oxygen are the coronary arteries. The oxygen is delivered to the heart muscle by coronary arteries. In order to keep up, the heart muscle has to use a lot of oxygen so it can keep pumping at this rate. When the heart is beating fast, it is really placing a lot of stress on the heart muscle. The sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear and increases the heart rate which helps prepare the body to fight.īut for some patients with underlying health problem (especially heart related like heart disease or weak heart function like heart failure) it can be deadly. In fearful situations it can be beneficial in helping us escape danger.

Stimulants: nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, caffeine, amphetamines Problems or Consequences of Sinus Tachycardiaįirst of all, it’s not always a problem because with exercise it is a good thing to help us maintain heart healthy and burn calories. Therapeutics: atropine (anticholinergics), albuterol, dopamine, epinephrine Respiratory conditions: pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, chronic lung diseases (oxygen decreased) Hyperthyroidism (sinus tachycardia may be the only symptom for some patients) Temperature elevation (infection leading to sepsis)…a fever increases oxygen needs of bodyĬardiac disease: congestive heart failure, myocardial infraction leading to cardiogenic shock To help you remember the main causes of sinus tachycardia, remember: If this happens also assess the patient for chest pain that worsens with breathing in, cough (example: contains blood) or shortness of breath. If a blood clot breaks off and goes to the lungs (known as a pulmonary embolism) it causes oxygen demands to increase, pressures to alter, and increases the workload on the heart. This is where the heart muscle was majorly damaged from the heart attack and is failing so the body is trying to compensate by increasing the rate but it is will fail.Īnother example is with blood clots. With a heart attack it could mean your patient is developing cardiogenic shock. Therefore, if you have a patient who has had a recent heart attack or is experiencing blood clots (there is a high risk after surgery of a bone like the hips etc., postpartum period, immobile), and develops sinus tachycardia, you want to notify the physician. One thing the nurse wants to keep in mind is that if a patient has an underlying medical condition, sinus tachycardia could present as a warning sign that the underlying medical condition is worsening and should not be ignored.

This is because the amount of red blood cells is reduced which limits the amount of oxygen available in the body and leads to sinus tachycardia. Or if a patient has anemia sinus tachycardia can occur. When exercise ceases the heart rate drops and returns back to normal sinus rhythm. However, whatever the cause is, if it can be treated, removed, or corrected the sinus tachycardia will disappear and the heart rate should return to normal.įor example, exercise causes sinus tachycardia. This trigger can be either related to an underlying disease or non-disease related. This occurs because something is triggering the SA node to fire rapidly. It hopes that by pumping faster it can get the oxygen the body needs to tissues and organs. Therefore, the heart tries to compensate for that by increasing the heart rate. Sinus tachycardia *usually* occurs because the body needs oxygen.

Interpretation: Sinus tachycardia with rate of 110 bpm Causes of Sinus Tachycardia: QT interval will be shorten (faster the heart the shorter the QT interval).PR interval (normal 0.12-0.20 seconds)…if can measure if p-wave visible.Narrow QRS complex after every p-wave (Atrial and ventricular rates are regular but they are FAST >100 bpm.

Ivcd rhythm strip