Practice Question
A nurse is caring for a client with a newly diagnosed arrhythmia. The rhythm from the monitor can be seen and has been described as an irregular heartbeat where the atria beat rapidly and in a saw-tooth pattern. Which of the following pharmacologic interventions should the nurse question the healthcare provider about, if it were ordered to treat this arrhythmia?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Atropine
Rationale:
✔️The ECG strip shows atrial flutter, characterized by rapid atrial depolarizations producing a “saw-tooth” pattern on the baseline.
✔️Atrial flutter results from a reentrant circuit in the atria, leading to atrial rates of 250–350 beats/min, with variable ventricular conduction.
✔️Atropine is a parasympatholytic drug that increases SA node firing and AV node conduction, thereby raising heart rate—it is used for bradyarrhythmias, not tachyarrhythmias like atrial flutter.
✔️Administering atropine would worsen the tachycardia and increase ventricular response, placing the client at risk for hemodynamic instability.
✔️Instead, medications such as diltiazem (a calcium channel blocker) and metoprolol (a beta-blocker) help slow ventricular rate, while apixaban is used to prevent thromboembolic complications due to atrial stasis.
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This question is from Custom 2201 Unit 3 Exam 2025 which contains 58 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN Custom Exam(s)
- Answer Choices: 4