The Tachyarrhythmias
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Introduction The tachyarrhythmias comprise a variety of disorders ranging from isolated ectopic beats to repetitive arrhythmias arising in the atria or ventricles….
The Electrocardiogram in Ischemic Heart Disease
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy General Considerations Reductions in blood flow (and consequently the oxygen supply) to the myocardium can cause transient or permanent damage (ischemia and…
The Bradyarrhythmias
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Introduction The excitation-conduction system of the heart is controlled by the sinoatrial (SA) node, which is located in the right atrium, near…
The Electrocardiogram in Patients with Cardiac Pacemakers
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy General Considerations The heart has the capacity to contract regularly following the delivery of an appropriate electrical stimulus (i.e., adequate in both…
Bundle-Branch Blocks and Fascicular Blocks
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Intraventricular Conduction Delays: General Principles For a review of the anatomy of the His-Purkinje network, see Chap. 1. Bundle-branch blocks (BBBs) and…
Cardiac Chamber Hypertrophy
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Atrial Abnormalities General Considerations In the past, P-wave anomalies associated with cardiac chamber hypertrophy have been referred to with a variety of…
Electrocardiographic Changes Caused by Drugs and Electrolyte Abnormalities
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Drug-Induced Changes A number of cardioactive drugs can cause changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG), the antiarrhythmic agents in particular. The most important…
The Electrocardiogram in Diseases of the Pericardium and Myocardium
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy Acute Pericarditis Acute pericarditis is associated with inflammation of the subepicardial layers of the myocardium, which are in contact with the pericardium….
Inherited Cardiac Arrhythmias
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy This group of arrhythmias includes several specific syndromes, the most important of which are: 1. The long QT syndrome (LQTS); 2….
The Electrocardiographic Leads
(1) Ospedale Civile di Vigevano, Vigevano, Italy As noted in Chap. 1, propagation of the electrical stimulus in the heart can be represented as dipoles. For simplicity’s sake, each…
