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 which of the following?

A. 60 Beats/min
B. 75 Beats/min
C. 100 Beats/min
D. 150 Beats/min

Answer 1

The nurse would calculate the patient's heart rate to be 100 beats per minute by dividing 1500 by the number of small blocks between the R waves, which, in this case, is 15.

Step-by-step explanation:

When computing a heart rate from an ECG tracing, if a nurse counts 15 of the small blocks between the R waves, the calculation of the patient's heart rate takes into account the standard ECG paper speed. On an ECG, one small block typically represents 0.04 seconds. To determine the heart rate, you can use the formula: 1500 divided by the number of small blocks between R waves. In this case, it would be 1500 / 15, which equals 100 beats per minute (bpm).

Therefore, the correct heart rate from these data would be 100 beats/min (Option C).