2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 540 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it would take about 9 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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What is Diabetes

What is diabetes? What causes diabetes?

Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).

Studying the Basic ECG

INTRODUCTION

Normal sinus rhythm (NSR) is the characteristic rhythm of the healthy human heart. NSR is considered to be present if the heart rate is in the normal range, the P waves are normal on the ECG, and the rate does not vary significantly. If, however, the R-R interval is variable, the rhythm is called sinus arrhythmia. A sinus rhythm faster than the normal range is called a sinus tachycardia (see “Sinus tachycardia”), while a slower rate is called a sinus bradycardia (see “Sinus bradycardia”).

What is an AV Block? (Pediatric ACLS)

First-degree AV block:

In this condition, there is a delay of the electrical impulse reaching the lower chambers of the heart. It is not a complete heart block, merely a delay in conduction producing prolongation of the PR interval on the surface electrocardiogram. First-degree AV block is rare but may be seen in young, healthy adults, especially well-trained athletes owing to an increase in vagal tone. Patients are generally asymptomatic. In pediatrics it may be seen with certain types of congenital heart defects, after heart surgery or closure of an atrial septal defect, following catheter ablation, muscular dystrophy, rheumatic fever, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, tuberculosis, endocarditis, diphtheria, medications, coronary disease, heart failure and degenerative diseases of the electrical conduction system.

Syncope and Heart Palpitation in teenager

A 19-year-old white male presents to the emergency department (ED) in Connecticut after an episode of shortness of breath and syncope while at home. He reports having experienced recurrent episodes of palpitations and fatigue in the week before presentation. Yesterday, the patient sought medical attention for these symptoms at his pediatrician’s office. An electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed, but it was normal; the patient was sent home wearing a Holter monitor (also known as an ambulatory electrocardiography device). Today, while mowing the lawn, the patient again felt a sudden onset of palpitations, accompanied by shortness of breath and light-headedness. He went inside the house, where he suddenly “passed out” (according to the patient’s girlfriend). The girlfriend also states that he was unresponsive for a couple of minutes and that the patient exhibited no seizurelike activity or incontinence. She noted that he was “pretty much himself” once he regained consciousness. He was then brought by ambulance to the ED; a rhythm strip was acquired en route (see top image). Prophylactic transcutaneous pacer pads were placed by the emergency medical services (EMS) team.

A Gleam in his eyes

A 5-year-old boy presents to his primary care provider with a 1-week history of a “gleam” that was noticed in the child’s left eye in dim light. His parents do not report any fever or concurrent illnesses. The patient has not taken any recent medications (except for multivitamins). His parents deny any history of allergies and his vaccination schedule is up to date. The patient was born full-term and has no siblings. The family history is significant only for maternal gestational diabetes and hypothyroidism. There is no parental consanguinity.

What is a defibrillator and how does it work?

Question: What is a defibrillator and how does it work?

Answer :A defibrillator is an electrical device that provides a shock to the heart when there is a life-threatening arrhythmia present. The arrhythmia that we worry about is called ventricular fibrillation. This is a very rapid erratic beating of the heart.

Chain of Survival in CPR (AHA 2010)

To increase the chance of successful resuscitation following cardiac arrest, this requires an integrated set of coordinated, sequential actions represented by a chain of links. This is known as the Chain of Survival.