Monitor alarm on the coronary care unit
The case
58-year-old woman. Monitor alarm on the coronary care unit
Day one after primary PCI to the left anterior descending artery for an anterior infarct. On aspirin, ticagrelor, bisoprolol and atorvastatin. Pain free since the procedure; potassium this morning 4.2 mmol/L.
On arrival
- HR
- 78
- SpO₂ (%)
- 97
- Respiratory rate
- 16
- Temperature (°C)
- 36.7
- Systolic BP (mmHg)
- 118
- Diastolic BP (mmHg)
- 70
Stage 1 of 1
Marguerite Okoro pressed her buzzer to say she felt strange, and the monitor alarmed while the nurse was still in the bay. She stopped answering within a few seconds. There is no pulse at the carotid, she is not breathing normally, and the defibrillator is at the end of the bed. This is the strip the monitor printed.
Diagnosis
Ventricular fibrillation arrest after anterior myocardial infarction
This tracing was generated, not recorded. It opens in the studio with every dial live.
Discussion
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