Abstract
In this third article of the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing’s ECG series, we will examine arrhythmias caused by abnormal impulse generation. The intention is not to explain every possible rhythm disturbance, but rather to review the most common and clinically relevant arrhythmias, and describe how they can be recognised on the ECG. We will also place each arrhythmia in clinical context by briefly discussing why it occurs, and how it is treated. Hopefully this process will illustrate the mechanisms that cause arrhythmias, and deepen the reader’s understanding of the electrical function of the heart. The rhythm disturbances that we will cover in this article are as follows: Ectopic beats Atrial fibrillation (AF) and flutter Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) Ventricular tachycardia (VT) Ventricular fibrillation (VF)
Highlights
Arrhythmias, are a common problem encountered in clinical practice, and their recognition is a core skill in many areas of nursing (Bench and Brown, 2011; Jowett and Thompson, 2007)
If the second pathway has recovered by the time the impulse has arrived in the AV node, it exits the node via the bundle of His and via the additional pathway, travelling upwards into the atria (Lee and Linker, 2014). This causes a type of Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) known as atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT)
Arrhythmias are a common cause of illness, and affect people with normal hearts as well as those with underlying structural or electrical abnormalities
Summary
British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, January 2016, Vol 11, No 1, p. 15-20. This is the accepted manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, copyright (c) MA Healthcare, after technical editing by the publisher. British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, January 2016, Vol 11, No 1, p. This is the accepted manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, copyright (c) MA Healthcare, after technical editing by the publisher.
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