The nurse is assessing the apical pulse of a 3-month-old infant and finds that the heart rate is 135 beats per minute. How should the nurse interpret this finding?

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The heart rate may range from 100 to 180 beats per minute immediately after birth and then stabilize to an average of 120 to 140 beats per minute. Infants normally have wide fluctuations with activity, from 170 beats per minute or more with crying or being active to 70 to 90 beats per minute with sleeping. Persistent tachycardia is greater than 200 beats per minute in newborns or greater than 150 beats per minute in infants.

The Nurse Is Assessing the Apical Pulse of a 3-Month-Old