Comprehensive Guide To Assessing Atrial Rate: Auscultation, Palpation, Ecg, And Indirect Indicators
To calculate atrial rate, auscultation involves listening to the heart sounds for an “S4” sound that signals atrial contraction. The carotid pulse can be palpated to feel for every other atrial contraction. An ECG measures electrical activity, with the distance between P waves indicating the atrial rate. Observing the jugular venous pulse for “a” waves…