Basic Arrhythmia Sentara Rhythm Identification
Exam Questions and Verified Answers with
Rationale Latest Edition 2026/2027
1. Which rhythm strip finding is characterized by a regular
rhythm, rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute, upright P waves
preceding every QRS complex, and a normal PR interval?
A. Sinus bradycardia
B. Normal sinus rhythm
C. Junctional escape rhythm
D. Atrial fibrillation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Normal sinus rhythm originates in the sinoatrial
node within the normal 60 to 100 beats per minute range,
featuring consistent, normal P wave morphology and
constant 1:1 AV conduction.
2. What is the defining rhythm characteristic of Sinus
Bradycardia on an ECG monitor?
A. Regular rhythm with a heart rate below 60 beats per minute
and normal P waves
B. Irregular rhythm with absent P waves and a slow ventricular
response
,C. Sawtooth baseline waves with a rate under 50 beats per
minute
D. Wide, bizarre QRS complexes firing at 30 beats per minute
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Sinus bradycardia shares identical electrical
features with normal sinus rhythm except that the rate
slows below 60 beats per minute due to increased vagal
tone or SA node depression.
3. Which rhythm is identified by an irregular ventricular
response, chaotic baseline with no distinct P waves, and an
irregularly irregular R-R interval?
A. Atrial flutter
B. Atrial fibrillation
C. Multifocal atrial tachycardia
D. Sinus arrhythmia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Atrial fibrillation produces chaotic atrial
depolarization, resulting in an irregularly irregular rhythm
pattern lacking organized P waves.
4. What is the typical appearance of Atrial Flutter on a
rhythm strip?
A. Sawtooth or picket-fence flutter (F) waves with a regular or
irregular ventricular response and absent normal P waves
,B. Fine, chaotic wavy baseline without any recognizable
waveforms
C. Single isolated premature beats with wide QRS complexes
D. Regular narrow complexes preceded by tall, peaked delta
waves
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Atrial flutter features macro-reentrant circuits that
generate regular, distinct sawtooth flutter waves typically at
atrial rates around 300 beats per minute.
5. Which rhythm strip displays an irregular rhythm varying
with respiration, normal P waves, and a heart rate between
60 and 100 beats per minute?
A. Sinus arrhythmia
B. Sinus tachycardia
C. Ventricular escape rhythm
D. Second-degree heart block
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Sinus arrhythmia is a normal physiological
variation where heart rate accelerates slightly during
inspiration and slows during expiration, driven by vagal
nerve tone changes.
6. What characterizes First-Degree Atrioventricular Block
on an ECG rhythm strip?
, A. Consistently prolonged PR interval exceeding 0.20 seconds
with every P wave followed by a QRS complex
B. Intermittently dropped QRS complexes following a
progressively lengthening PR interval
C. Completely independent P waves and QRS complexes
D. Sudden non-conducted P waves without PR changes
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: First-degree AV block exhibits a prolonged but
constant PR interval (>1 large box) where every atrial
impulse successfully conducts through the AV node.
7. Which Second-Degree AV block type exhibits progressive
lengthening of the PR interval with each successive beat
until an atrial impulse is blocked and a QRS is dropped?
A. Mobitz Type II
B. Mobitz Type I (Wenckebach)
C. Third-degree block
D. Sinoatrial exit block
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Mobitz Type I (Wenckebach) features cyclical PR
elongation followed by a missing QRS complex and a
resetting of the PR interval on the next conducted beat.
Exam Questions and Verified Answers with
Rationale Latest Edition 2026/2027
1. Which rhythm strip finding is characterized by a regular
rhythm, rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute, upright P waves
preceding every QRS complex, and a normal PR interval?
A. Sinus bradycardia
B. Normal sinus rhythm
C. Junctional escape rhythm
D. Atrial fibrillation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Normal sinus rhythm originates in the sinoatrial
node within the normal 60 to 100 beats per minute range,
featuring consistent, normal P wave morphology and
constant 1:1 AV conduction.
2. What is the defining rhythm characteristic of Sinus
Bradycardia on an ECG monitor?
A. Regular rhythm with a heart rate below 60 beats per minute
and normal P waves
B. Irregular rhythm with absent P waves and a slow ventricular
response
,C. Sawtooth baseline waves with a rate under 50 beats per
minute
D. Wide, bizarre QRS complexes firing at 30 beats per minute
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Sinus bradycardia shares identical electrical
features with normal sinus rhythm except that the rate
slows below 60 beats per minute due to increased vagal
tone or SA node depression.
3. Which rhythm is identified by an irregular ventricular
response, chaotic baseline with no distinct P waves, and an
irregularly irregular R-R interval?
A. Atrial flutter
B. Atrial fibrillation
C. Multifocal atrial tachycardia
D. Sinus arrhythmia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Atrial fibrillation produces chaotic atrial
depolarization, resulting in an irregularly irregular rhythm
pattern lacking organized P waves.
4. What is the typical appearance of Atrial Flutter on a
rhythm strip?
A. Sawtooth or picket-fence flutter (F) waves with a regular or
irregular ventricular response and absent normal P waves
,B. Fine, chaotic wavy baseline without any recognizable
waveforms
C. Single isolated premature beats with wide QRS complexes
D. Regular narrow complexes preceded by tall, peaked delta
waves
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Atrial flutter features macro-reentrant circuits that
generate regular, distinct sawtooth flutter waves typically at
atrial rates around 300 beats per minute.
5. Which rhythm strip displays an irregular rhythm varying
with respiration, normal P waves, and a heart rate between
60 and 100 beats per minute?
A. Sinus arrhythmia
B. Sinus tachycardia
C. Ventricular escape rhythm
D. Second-degree heart block
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Sinus arrhythmia is a normal physiological
variation where heart rate accelerates slightly during
inspiration and slows during expiration, driven by vagal
nerve tone changes.
6. What characterizes First-Degree Atrioventricular Block
on an ECG rhythm strip?
, A. Consistently prolonged PR interval exceeding 0.20 seconds
with every P wave followed by a QRS complex
B. Intermittently dropped QRS complexes following a
progressively lengthening PR interval
C. Completely independent P waves and QRS complexes
D. Sudden non-conducted P waves without PR changes
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: First-degree AV block exhibits a prolonged but
constant PR interval (>1 large box) where every atrial
impulse successfully conducts through the AV node.
7. Which Second-Degree AV block type exhibits progressive
lengthening of the PR interval with each successive beat
until an atrial impulse is blocked and a QRS is dropped?
A. Mobitz Type II
B. Mobitz Type I (Wenckebach)
C. Third-degree block
D. Sinoatrial exit block
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Mobitz Type I (Wenckebach) features cyclical PR
elongation followed by a missing QRS complex and a
resetting of the PR interval on the next conducted beat.
