STUDENT: Sierra Gibbs

ADVISOR: Khalid Almasloukh

ABSTRACT:

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common heart arrhythmia to be treated in the acute care setting. AFib is known to cause many severe and life threatening complications, therefore rapid treatment of acute AFib is an important intervention for both short and long term patient outcomes. The most common short term treatment of AFib is cardioversion, which resets the heart’s electrical impulses, allowing it to return to a regular rhythm. Cardioversion may be chemical or electrical. By searching the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for key terms relating to different forms of cardioversion used in the acute care setting and assessing data from peer-reviewed articles published in various medical journals.