Certified Rhythm Analysis Technician (CRAT) Practice Exam

Junctional tachycardia is defined as a heart rate that exceeds the normal range, typically responsive to a junctional focus, which can occur due to various factors such as increased automaticity or re-entry phenomena. This type of tachycardia usually presents with rates above 100 bpm.

A heart rate of 130 bpm distinctly falls within the tachycardic range, indicating that the heart is beating significantly faster than the normal resting rate, which generally sits between 60 and 100 bpm for a healthy adult. In the context of junctional rhythms, this higher rate is crucial as junctional tachycardia often develops from a secondary pacemaker site in the junctional area of the heart due to the primary sinoatrial node's failure to initiate faster beats or as a compensatory mechanism to maintain adequate cardiac output.

Lower heart rates such as 40 bpm and 60 bpm indicate bradycardia or a normal rhythm, while a heart rate of 90 bpm is at the upper end of the normal resting heart rate but does not qualify as tachycardia. Thus, the distinguishing factor for diagnosing junctional tachycardia here is the presence of a rate, specifically above 100 bpm, which is accurately described