14. ECG - Identifying Some Basic Disturbances of Rhythm Flashcards
What is bradycardia and tachycardia?
Bradycardia - heart rate < 60
Tachycardia - heart rate > 100
What are the supraventricular arrhythmias?
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial flutter
- Atrio-ventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT)
What are the ventricular arrhythmias?
- Ventricular fibrillation
* Ventricular tachycardia
Which of the 2 types of arrhythmias are the most dangerous?
- Ventricular arrhythmias
* Atria are not as essential to sustain life, ventricles are
What happens on the ECG if you have problems with coronary arteries (give an example)?
- S-T segment can shift up or down
* Myocardial Infarction results in S-T segment elevation
What happens with people born with long QT syndrome?
Predisposed to arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death
What is the standard sweep speed of an ECG?
25mm/s
What are the normal values of the following: • P wave • PR interval • Q wave • QRS complex • QT interval • ST segment • T wave
- P wave - < 0.11s; < 2.5mm (Lead II)
- PR interval - 0.12 - 0.20s
- Q wave - < 0.04s; < 25% of total QRS complex amplitude
- QRS complex - <0.12s; < 25mm (V6)
- QT interval - 0.38 - 0.42s
- ST segment - should be isoelectric
- T wave - may be inverted in Lead III, aVR, V1 & V2 without being abnormal
What does a prolonged PR interval indicate?
Abnormal conduction in the ventricles
What could a large amplitude in the QRS complex indicate?
Ventricular hypertrophy
What changes on the ECG during Myocardial Ischaemia?
ST segment
What is Sinus Tachycardia?
- Abnormally fast resting heart rate (100-200 bpm)
- Comes from the sinus node
- Normal form of waves
- Often physiological (response)
- Very common
What is Atrial Fibrillation?
- Irregular beat
- Pattern of the (irregular) beat is irregular
- Normal QRS complex
- Inconsistent duration between QRS complexes
- No P waves (due to no synchronous atrial contraction)
- Wobbling baseline due to myocardium contracting at different times
- Atria - 350-650 bpm
- Ventricles - 100-180 bpm
What is Atrial Flutter?
- Saw-tooth appearance of P wave with no isoelectric line - constant atrial activity
- This constant activity distinguishes it from atrial fibrillation
- Some of the atrial depolarisation is conducted down to the ventricles (around every 3rd atrial beat)
- This shows the AV node is still doing is job - protecting the ventricles from beating too fast (atrioventricular block)
- Normal QRS
- ST segment and T wave would look normal, but they are buried under the waves of atrial depolarisation
- Atria - 250-350 bpm
- Ventricles - 150 bpm (2:1 atrioventricular block)
- Regular ventricular rhythm
What is Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)? (2 types)
• Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia (AVNRT)
- depolarisation is rotating within the AV node
- simultaneous depolarisation of the atria and ventricles
- lots of (regular) QRS complexes
- no clear P waves - buried within QRS complexes
- re-entrant circuit within the AV node
- adenosine responsive (medication can block the AV node)
• Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia (AVRT) - circuit within the atrium and ventricle
- re-entrant circuit through accessory pathways