Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Monitoring, by Brienne Johnson.
Health care workers and in health care settings should always adhere to the latest World Health
Organization guidelines on hand hygiene and barrier precautions before and after contact
with the patient, bodily fluids, or patient surroundings.
For more information, please watch our video entitled "Hand Hygiene."
Introduction.
Hi.
My name is Brie Johnson.
And I'm a nurse here at the Pediatric Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Boston Children's
Hospital.
I am here today to talk to you about non-invasive monitoring of the cardiovascular system.
Non-invasive cardiovascular monitoring includes techniques used to measure heart activity
and circulation that do not require the insertion of any devices into the patient.
If you master the skills of non-invasive monitoring, you will be able to safely care for any patient.
Ideally, all patients in the critical care setting should be on a continuous cardiac
monitor.
This would include monitoring - regularly - their heart rate, their heart rhythm, and
also their blood pressure at appropriate intervals deemed for that patient.
It is absolutely acceptable to use a non-invasive blood pressure technique, such as the blood
pressure cuff.
You should document your child's vital signs at a minimum of every hour or with any critical
and clinical change.