Arrythmias Flashcards
What are the types of supraventricular arrhythmia?
Atrial fibrillation,
Atrial flutter,
Atrial ectopic tachycardia
What are the types of ventricular arrhythmias?
Ventricular ectopic beats,
Ventricular fibrillation,
Asystole,
Ventricular tachycardia
What are ectopic beats?
A beat that originates from any focus point other than the SA node - can be a maintained or single event
What is re-entry?
An alternative conduction pathway with different speeds of conduction (such as scarring from an MI) - becomes a circle
What is the treatment for bradycardia?
Atropine
What is the treatment for tachycardia?
Ivabradine/B-blocker
What are the 3 types of AF?
Paroxysmal: brief periods of AF that automatically revert to normal
Persistent: spells of more than 48 hours of AF that can be pharmacologically reversed
Permanent: irreversible AF (pharmacologically/non-pharmacologically)
What does AF look like on an ECG?
No P waves, irregularly irregular heart rate
What does atrial flutter look like on an ECG?
Saw-tooth pattern - otherwise the same as AF
How is atrial flutter treated?
Ablation
What is the risk associated with digoxin?
Heart block - slows conduction in the AV node
What is adenosine used for?
SVT (briefly hyper polarised AV node preventing conduction)
What is verapamil used to treat?
Atrial flutter/fibrillation
What condition does propranolol/atenolol prevent?
Ventricular tachycardia
What is amiodarone used for?
To suppress re-entry (SVT + VT)
