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Posts Tagged ‘svt’

Determinants of “P” wave location in narrow qrs tachycardia ?

Posted in cardaic physiology, Cardiology - Electrophysiology -Pacemaker, cardiology -ECG, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 6, 2012| 1 Comment »

Identifying the P wave is the key to decode  any  narrow QRS  tachycardia . Though the  the relationship to  p and  qrs is vita ,  many times it is  not  easy to  relate them.More easily one  may  get  a  clue to the mechanism by analysing   P wave timing .This is the basis of calling narrow qrs tachycardia as short RP and long RP.

Wonder   . . .  why  the  relation “P to R” became  “R to P” here !

Since  in the   common narrow qrs tachycardias  AVNRT/AVRT  ,  atria  activates  the atria  in a  retrograde manner , we look  for the relationship of qrs complex on subsequent P wave . Hence the interval between R to P become the focus.

In other words RP interval indicates retrograde  conduction property of AV tissue .

If it is slow the P wave will be well separated from QRS .

If it is fast it will be close to QRS complex .

If it is ultra fast as in some AVNRT ,it can fall within the qrs complex and completely invisible .

(The so called  r’ prime in classical AVNRT is nothing but a distorted p wave on the terminal qrs complex.)

Based on  RP interval  the following classification is used (List is incomplete)

Short RP Tachycardia

  • AVNRT (Slow-Fast )
  • AVRT

Long  RP tachycardia

  • Atypical AVNRT(Fast -slow)
  • Atrial tachycardia*
  • Sinus tachycardia*
  • SA nodal re-entry*
  • Some forms of AVRT

* Please note ,  here the P wave is not determined by the preceding qrs unlike other tachycardia in the list.

What is the  cut off point to call it is Short RP /Long RP ?

It is arbitrary . Following may help

If RP interval > PR interval it is long RP.

If the absolute RP interval is >  100  ms  with the heart rate of > 160 it would  generally  Indicate a long RP tachycardia .

The timing  of  retrograde P can be very complex than we believe  as the following factors heavily influence it.

  • The autonomic tone
  • Site of retrograde atrial  breakthrough point .
  • Atrial size ,
  • Atrial  refractionaries
  • Effect of drugs
  • Intact-ness of inter atrial conduction
  • Chances of the retrograde atrial activation capturing Internodal pathway

Final message

The P wave location in narrow qrs tachycardia is primarily determined by the retrograde VA  conduction and less  on the antegrade AV conduction  . Looking at the interval between R and P is a  quick way of getting the VA conduction in the bed side.

Once we get an  idea how the VA  circuit  conducts , we can narrow down the possibilities  in  Narrow qrs tachycardias !

Comming  soon

What determines the morphology of retrograde P waves in AVNRT/AVRT ?

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What is the mechanism of action of Adenosine in AVNRT ?

Posted in cardiac drugs, Cardiology - Clinical, Cardiology - Electrophysiology -Pacemaker, cardiology -Therapeutics, Cardiology-Arrhythmias, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2011| 1 Comment »

Adenosine is a  purine analogue. Acts by stimulating outward K+ channel  of AV nodal tissue, more specifically  in the posteriorly   located  slow pathway in the vicinity of  coronary sinus.

Another action of adenosine is inhibition of cAMP , which is similar to beta blocking action may also help in terminating the tachycardia.

Adenosine : A 10 second cardiac miracle

  • 12mg bolus is administered , preferably in a central vein (Not mandatory  though)
  • Termination is usually abrupt . Transient VPDs are observed during termination.
  • Transient flushing may occur.
  • If the patient is taking Aminophylline group of drugs (Which are adenosine antagonists) the AV nodal blocking action may be neutralised .

(It may be apt to recall  at this juncture ,  Aminophylline is used in sinus node dysfunction or AV block to increase heart rate )

Reference

A good one from Medscape http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/585287_2

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What is the importance of recognising slow -slow AVNRT ?

Posted in cardiac surgery, Cardiology - Clinical, cardiology -Therapeutics, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2010| 1 Comment »

AV nodal reentrant tachycadia(AVNRT) is the commonest mechanism of SVT. It is divided into slow-fast, fast-slow, slow-slow , representing the two limbs of he circuit.

Slow -Slow circuit is  the rarest  type of AVNRT.  It should be appreciated  ,  the scientific validity of  slow-slow circuit is  applicable  only in relative terms . A virtually  similar antegrade and retrograde limbs with identical conduction velocity and refractory  properties  , can neither  initiate  nor  sustain an AVNRT.

Caveat in the definition of slow -slow AVNRT.

Even though ,  we call it   a  slow-slow  tachycardia , one of the limbs need to be faster than the other.  So , every slow -Slow AVNRT in reality will have  two types

  • Slow- Slow ( Still , faster than antegrade slow) mimic a slow-fast physiology
  • Slow( Faster than retograde slow )  -Slow closely mimic typical  fast slow .

Implication for electrophysiologists  and   points of contention for the ablationist !

  • In Slow -Slow AVNRT ablation we do not know exactly ,  which of the slow pathway is being ablated , unless we specifically  analyse  the post ablative  data.
  • Very often it is not done.Every one in the lab is happy , for breaking the tachycardia circuit. Only after the procedure is over , we may realise the tachycardia is not really killed as it finds an alternate highway to complete  the short circuiting of heart.
  • We need to  suspect this type of AVNRT   prior to the  procedure .Electrophysiologist  shall  spend little   more time and a wide area ablation done , in the vicinity  of coronary sinus ostium can be attempted. .

It is not a smart practice to advocate  wide area ablation as a routine protocol in all AVNRT

as it directly  increase the rate of complication >

Final message

A   hurriedly  done slow pathway ablation  which  may  temporarily terminate the AVNRT ,only to recur later as  the retrograde  slow pathway may again form  a substrate  .The area of slow conduction  acts as a turnaround gateway and capture  the  retrograde fast  pathway which  could be  available in plenty in the anterior aspects of AV node  .   (Note : The unablated  slow pathway  now  form the antegrade  circuit )

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How common is ischemic SVT ?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Ischemic ventricular tachycardia is a  too well recognised clinical  entity  . But , ischemia triggered atrial arrhythmias are less often encountered .

Does that mean , atria are relatively protected from the effects of ischemia ?

Not really  . . .  It  is possible  it may not be  that rare ,  as we think .

And then ,  the semantics play  a major  role !

Atrial fibrillation  is the commonest supra ventricular  arrhythmia  in human ,  we also know CAD is the leading cause of the AF apart from HT & Cardiomyopathy . So technically , ischemic SVT  is  more common than Ischemic VT ,but we do not call it so !

If we analyse the triggers for AF it is more often hypoxia  (than ischemia )  . . .yes there is huge difference between the two .In the ventricles it is more often ischemia that  trigger a VT.

Atrium is very sensitive to systemic  oxygen saturations especially in elderly and COPD patients. This is the reason we get many of the complex atrial arrhythmias in hypoxic situations ( Ectopic atrial, Multi focal atrial , etc) .These arrhythmias are difficult to control unless oxygen saturation is corrected. While  many of AF episodes are transient and disappear after correction of hypoxia.

If the ventricle also  responds with fibrillation  at times of systemic  hypoxia ,  one can  imagine the disastrous consequence ! God is kind enough , systemic hypoxia per se  rarely trigger a VF ,  though  it can maintain a VT which was initiated by some other mechanism.

So what are the causes of  narrow qrs tachycardia in the coronary setting

Apart from AF ,  Ischemic SVT  can occur in the following situations

  • STEMI -RVMI
  • Atrial infarction -Focal AT -Atrial flutter /AF
  • Post Pericarditis
  • Refractory , ischemic JT (Junctional tacycardia ) in elderly , perioperative , hypoxic patients

*Atrial arrhythmias are very rare during unstable angina for some unknown reasons . Atrial scar induced ischemic focal AT is underdiagnosed.

** Never  diagnose AVNRT /AVRT in a patient   who has an ACS. It is likely you will be 99.9% wrong.

*** Preexcited AVRTS are very rare in elderly CAD patients even in those with a history of SVT  .This is because as the age advances the accessory pathways undergo degeneration either by ischemia or  the wear and tear  and get self ablated .

Many times the associated , HT and diabetes may contribute to the arrhythmia.

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Should we not clarify what exactly we mean by wide qrs tachycardia ?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2009| 1 Comment »

Wide qrs tachycardia has a unique place in clinical electrocardiography .It is  a much fancied and glamorous entity for the simple reason , it continues to be the  cardiologist ever solved puzzle .For over three decades of research, clinical debates , symposiums , seminars have effectively failed to take away the uncertainties in decoding the wide  QRS  tachycardia . (Specifically ,  VT vs SVT with aberrancy)

Some wondered , should we really waste our efforts in differentiating the two . In emergencies it never matters , in fact one need  not attempt to do this often futile exercise !

Few dedicated criterias like Brugada etc have helped us .

While the difficulties in differentiating between VT and SVT with aberrancy remain over the decades .A less reported  , but more common issue is  confronting  us .

It is  the big question of  differentiating a  wide  QRS tachycardia from a narrow QRS  tachycardia

wide qrs tachycardia vt svt aberrancy

This  occurs  more often than we realise  ,because we define wide  QRS  tachycardia in a vague manner

  • Normal qrs width between Up to 80 / up to 100 ms acceptable  ?*
  • Narrow qrs tachycardia 80 ms?
  • Wide qrs tachycardia i> 120ms  ?
  • Definitely wide qrs >140msec

* The confusion is mainly because 20ms difference between limb leads and chest leads .

In reality one may not be able to all  tachycardia into narrow or wide .

There is big  overlap zone that need to be labeled a intermediate qrs tachycardia

If we can  triage the tachycardias into three instead of two it may help us arrive  fast  ,  to the  correct diagnosis

Narrow QRS tachycardia ( qrs 80ms)

  • Sinus
  • All svtS (avnrt etc)

Intermediate QRS tachycardia 90-120

  • Most of the SVT with  aberrancy  ( Except antidromic SVTs which are really to wide !)
  • Septal VTs*
  • Fascicular VTs*
  • VT in PPM and ICD /CRT patients **

*  Any VT that arise near the major conducting system of ventricle conduct  fast and hence qrs are relatively narrow.

**These are rare entities where  base line wide QRS getting narrower with the onset of VT . (Ref : http://europace.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/eun254v1)

Wide qrs tachycardia >120ms

  • Most of the genuine VT (Ischemic , myocardial origin)
  • Post MI VTs
  • SVT aberrancy especially AVRT
  • Any SVT with preexisting BBB
  • Marked electrolytic disorders

Unresolved questions

  • Which lead we should look for measuring the width of qrs ?
  • Should we take the narrowest qrs or widest qrs or should we take the average ?
  • Should we calculate how much the tachycardia has widened the qrs from the baseline  width of a given patient ?  Is it not possible , what is wide for some may be normal for another !
  • If  there is no isoelectric line  and ST segment  blends with qrs complex  how to mark end of qrs ?
  • If  limb leads show a narrow qrs and chest leads shows  wide qrs what is the significance  ?
  • In precardial leads  if one lead alone shows a narrow qrs , what is the significance ?
  • Can a narrow qrs VT conduct  with aberrancy and making it  really  wide ?

Final message

When we are  able to solve   complex electrophysiological  problems  , we must also realise  even   simple  tasks can be demanding in medicne ! It is proposed to create a  new  group “Intermediate QRS tachycardia “that can help solve the issue where we have difficulty in labeling these  tachycardias which fall  in the  greyzone .We can try &  apply the modern EP based VT criterias  to this group and find out the hidden truths !

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How to localise focal atrial tachycardia with P wave morphology in ECG ?

Posted in cardiology -ECG, Cardiology-Arrhythmias, Cardiology-Land mark studies, Tutorial in clinical cardiology, tagged , , , , on March 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

What is the simplest and accurate way to predict  the   origin of Right atrial tachycardia(RAT)  from left atrial tachycardia(LAT) ?

Look at the P waves in V 1 ( Don’t look further ! )

  • A  negative  or  a biphasic (+/- ) P wave in V 1  is 100% specific  for a right atrial tachycardia
  • A positive P in V1 or  a biphasic ( –/+ ) P-wave in lead V1  has 100%  sensitivity  for a left atrial tachycardia

What are the incidence of left and right atrial tachycardia ?

RA- 75%

LA -25%

What are the common focus of right atrial tachycardia ?

  1. Crista terminalis (60% of all RAT)
  2. Tricuspid annulus
  3. Coronary sinus ostium
  4. Perinodal tissue
  5. Right side of IAS
  6. Right atrial appedage

What are the left atrial focus in Left atrial tachycardia ?

  1. Right & left pulmonary vein (50% of all LAT)
  2. Superior mitral annulus
  3. LAA
  4. CS body
  5. Left septum

(Please note  this rule is not applicable for re-entrant tachycardias, atrial flutter, AV nodal tachycardias)

Source :

P-Wave Morphology in Focal Atrial Tachycardia

Development of an Algorithm to Predict the Anatomic Site of Origin

peter M. Kistler  et all. 

This paper  from  Melburne, Australia is a rare gem of  an article for understanding  atrial tachycardia .This  paper won the  the Eric and Bonny Prystowsky Heart Rhythm  society Fellows Clinical Research Award, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005.

Click on the Link  to reach the article

http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/48/5/1010

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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In which tachycardias electrical cardioversion is ineffective or rather contraindicated ?

Posted in Cardiology - Clinical, cardiology- coronary care, Infrequently asked questions in cardiology (iFAQs), tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2008| 4 Comments »

                              Cardioversion with DC shock  offers immediate cure in many of the dangerous ventricular and atrial tachycardias.  It is often  taught ,  any hemodynamically unstable tachycardia  refractory to  medical therapy respond to electrical cardioversion.  One should also  remember electricity is in fact be called  as a drug !  and it should be delivered in proper form and dose. Here it is the paddle size, paddle position and the axis of current flow all are important. Now we have bi phasic currents for better efficacy.

                             While it is true, most of cardiac arrhythmias respond to shock,  there are few which do not respond or respond very transiently.There are few arrhythmias  in which ,DC shock is not only ineffective but may precipitate a ventricular  fibrillation.

                            Generally arrhythmias of reentrant etiology respond well to DC shock were interuption of  electrical circuit by external current is easily possible. In arrhythmia’s of enhanced automaticity ,  and ectopic tachycardia  it is difficult  to extinguish  the tachycardia focus with DC shock .

Arrhythmias where DC shock is not going to work are

A. Mutifocal atrial tachycardia(MAT)

B. Digoxin induced arrhythmias.Patients who are on digoxin,  has  enhanced ventricular  automaticity.These patients if they  get a DC shock will unmask the  ectopic foci.

C. In elderly with atrial fibrillation and sinus node dysfunction it may be dangerous to shock them with out temporary pacing support as sinus node goes for prolonged sleep mode.

D.In electrical storm with VT ,  if more than three shocks are required within a minute,  the VT will most often going to be permanent and the  electrical therapy can be termed as a failure. These patients will require intensive pharmacological management( Including magnesium, bretyllium etc)

E. And finally , sinus tachycardia (whatever the rate)  is an absolute contraindication for DC shock.

 Verapmil is often effective in MAT  but correction of hypoxia and acidosis may be critical.For digoxin induced arrhythmias phenytoin may be tried.

What to do when the DC shock fails?

  • It will be a  tricky situation and one wonder what to do next when the so called  universal antidote for cardiac arrhythmia fails !
  • Cellular internal millieu  is altered  by hypoxia and acidosis .It may prevent the  effectiveness of cardioversion.So try to correct them .
  • Over dirve atrial  pacing  is one option for automatic tachycardia.
  • And now ablation of arrhythmic focus is possible with radio frequency waves  in some of these patients.( Diffiuclt as an emergency procedure)

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