Rapid Cardiac Care is an indispensable resource for all frontline staff working with acutely ill patients. Offering easy access to the knowledge base needed to provide rapid, safe and effective cardiac care, it is ideal for newly qualified healthcare professionals including, nurses, paramedics, cardiac technicians, junior medics, and physiotherapists.

Key features include:

Essential information to support the assessment of the cardiac patient including focused history taking and physical assessment, rhythm interpretation and 12-lead ECG assessmentPractical guidance on how to care for patients with cardiac emergencies, including acute coronary syndromes, arrhythmias, heart failure and cardiac arrestA quick reference A-Z section that explores a wide range of conditions affecting the heart, each with a comprehensive overview of patient presentation and strategies to guide patient assessment and managementDiagrams and images are provided to facilitate learning

Emma Menzies-Gow, Senior Lecturer (Cardiac Nursing) - Kingston and St. Georges Joint Faculty, St. Georges, University of London Christine Spiers, Principal Lecturer (Cardiac Care), School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton.

List of Abbreviations ix

Preface xii

Acknowledgements xiii

Part 1: Cardiac Anatomy and Physiology

Anatomy 3

Cardiac cycle 5

Cardiac conduction system 6

Coronary circulation 8

Part 2: Rapid Cardiac Assessment

Introduction 13

Cardiac history taking 14

Physical examination 18

Cardiac Monitoring 21

Rapid rhythm recognition 23

Cardiac investigations 25

Part 3: Rapid 12lead ECG Interpretation

Introduction 31

Cardiac vectors and axis 33

Rapid ECG analysis tool 34

Rate and rhythm assessment 35

QRS axis calculation 36

Preexcitation syndromes 37

Bundle branch block and fascicular block 38

Myocardial ischaemia or infarction 41

Other abnormalities seen on the 12lead ECG 44

Part 4: Cardiac Conditions AZ

Acute coronary syndromes 47

Acute coronary syndromes: treatment and interventions 51

Acute heart failure 54

Aortic aneurysm 57

Aortic dissection 59

Aortic regurgitation 61

Aortic stenosis 63

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy 65

Atrial fibrillation 67

Atrial flutter 69

Brugada syndrome 71

Cardiac arrest 73

Cardiac arrhythmias: treatment and interventions 75

Cardiogenic shock 79

Dilated cardiomyopathy 81

Heart blocks 83

Hypertension 86

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 88

Infective endocarditis 90

Long QT syndrome 92

Marfan syndrome 94

Mitral regurgitation 96

Mitral stenosis 98

Myocarditis 100

Pericarditis 102

Supraventricular tachycardia 104

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy 107

Ventricular tachycardia 109

WolffParkinsonWhite syndrome (Preexcitation syndrome) 111

Index 113