Question

When computing a heart rate from the ECG tracing, the nurse counts 15 of the small blocks between the R waves of a patient whose rhythm is regular. From these data, the nurse calculates the patient's heart rate to be

a) 60 bpm
b) 75 bpm
c) 100 bpm
d) 150 bpm

Answer 1

To calculate the heart rate from an ECG tracing, divide 1500 by the number of small blocks between R waves. With 15 small blocks counted, the heart rate would be 100 bpm.

Step-by-step explanation:

When computing a heart rate from an ECG tracing, a common method involves counting the number of small blocks between R waves. Each small block on standard ECG paper represents 0.04 seconds. By knowing that there are 1500 small blocks in one minute (60 seconds), you can quickly calculate the heart rate by dividing 1500 by the number of small blocks between the R waves. In this case, the nurse counts 15 small blocks between the R waves. To get the heart rate, we calculate 1500 divided by 15, which equals 100. Therefore, the correct answer is c) 100 bpm (beats per minute).