Question

The patient's heart rate is 70 beats per minute, but the P waves come after the QRS complex. The nurse correctly determines that the patient's heart rhythm is:

a. a normal junctional rhythm.
b. an accelerated junctional rhythm.
c. a junctional tachycardia.
d. atrial fibrillation.

Answer 1

The patient's heart rhythm is a normal junctional rhythm.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this case, the patient's heart rhythm can be identified as a normal junctional rhythm. In a normal junctional rhythm, the P waves may come after the QRS complex because the atrial depolarization occurs retrogradely or simultaneously with ventricular depolarization. Despite this abnormality, the patient's heart rate is still within the normal range, which is around 60-100 beats per minute.