Ep.13 - Don’t Miss The QT Interval!

On this episode Dave talks about how the QT interval is a big deal and how we should be looking at it each time we perform an ECG.

QT Interval - The time from the beginning of the Q wave to the end of the T wave.

Also In This Episode

• Please start looking at the QTc as part of your regular ECG interpretation
• Torsades de Pointes is a specific form of 'Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia' caused by a 'Long QT'. Watch out and prepare!
• QT little 'c' which stands for (corrected). What it is correcting for? It's correcting for 'RATE' and averaging everything to 60 beats per minute. 
• QTc > 0.50 sec = a clinically significant prolonged QT interval and you need to tell somebody about it!!
• Patients at higher risk - Methadone and medications of the Mycin family are notorious for prolonging the QT interval to name just a very few. Brush up on all the other medications that prolong the QT. 
• Take a closer look at the QTc in patients who are elderly and perhaps suffer from chronic renal insufficiency...they are higher risk patients for a prolonged QT. 
• And don't forget...If you encounter a patient in Torsades. Once you fix the rhythm, immediately as yourself...Hmm why did this patient have a prolonged QT interval??? So it doesn't happen again.

 

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