Patients present to the emergency department (ED) with a wide range of complaints and ED clinicians are responsible for identifying which conditions are life threatening. Cardiac monitoring strategies in the ED include, but are not limited to, 12-lead electrocardiography and bedside cardiac monitoring for arrhythmia and ischemia detection as well as QT-interval monitoring. ED nurses are in a unique position to incorporate cardiac monitoring into the early triage and risk stratification of patients with cardiovascular emergencies to optimize patient management and outcomes.
Keywords: 12-Lead electrocardiogram; Arrhythmias; Cardiac monitoring; Emergency department; Myocardial ischemia/infarction; QT-Interval; ST-Segment monitoring.
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