Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia Description Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is defined as three or more consecutive ventricular beats occurring at a rate of 100 beats or more per minute. Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia…
Premature atrial complexes Description Premature atrial complexes (PACs) are supraventricular ectopic depolarizations originating in or near the atria or in the pulmonary veins that supersede activation from the sinus node….
Atrioventricular conduction abnormalities Atrioventricular (AV) block occurs when an atrial impulse either is not conducted to the ventricle or is conducted with delay. This assumes that the impulse occurs at…
Athletes with arrhythmias constitute a potentially high-risk group that may need special attention and evaluation in addition to care that might be required for nonathletes, especially if these athletes have…
During pregnancy, preexisting arrhythmias may or may not increase. Hemodynamic changes, particularly during the third trimester, may predispose to some arrhythmias. Palpitations due to higher plasma volumes or ectopy are…
Pharmacologic therapy for clinical arrhythmias Antiarrhythmic Agents Adenosine Adenosine is an intravenous (IV) purinergic blocker that inhibits sinus node and atrioventricular (AV) node automaticity and conduction, similar to high parasympathetic…
Tachycardia mechanisms Automaticity The rate at which the sinus node discharges usually is faster than other latent or subsidiary automatic cardiac pacemakers. Subsidiary pacemakers can become dominant in the settings…
Outpatient approach to arrhythmia monitoring Proper and effective monitoring is required to assess and manage arrhythmias and to document and diagnose the etiology of the problem. Many individuals have symptoms…
Normal sinus node Description Normal sinus rhythm (NSR) is an atrial rhythm caused by electrical activation that originates from the sinus node, a structure located in the area of the…
Introduction to Pericardial Diseases Itzhak Kronzon, MD Hippocrates (c. 460-370 BC) described the normal pericardium as follows: “The pericardium is a smooth mantle surrounding the heart and containing a small amount…
