Arrhythmia Essentials

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During pregnancy, preexisting arrhythmias may or may not increase. Hemodynamic changes, particularly during the third trimester, may predispose to some arrhythmias. Palpitations due to higher plasma volumes or ectopy are common and benign; noninvasive ambulatory monitoring may be considered if…

Pharmacologic therapy for clinical arrhythmias Antiarrhythmic Agents Adenosine Adenosine is an intravenous (IV) purinergic blocker that inhibits sinus node and atrioventricular (AV) node automaticity and conduction, similar to high parasympathetic activity. Adenosine binds to the adenosine A1 receptor and activates…

Outpatient approach to arrhythmia monitoring Proper and effective monitoring is required to assess and manage arrhythmias and to document and diagnose the etiology of the problem. Many individuals have symptoms that might appear to be arrhythmic in origin but are…

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Antiarrhythmic drugs By several mechanisms, some drugs, particularly antiarrhythmic drugs, can cause serious rhythm disturbances in susceptible individuals. This is termed proarrhythmia . Proarrhythmia encompasses an extensive list of arrhythmia types, including increase in premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), nonsustained ventricular…

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Pacemaker rhythms Cardiac pacing systems are described by a three- or four-letter code. The first letter indicates the chamber in which pacing stimuli are delivered (atrium, A; ventricle, V; or both, D). The second letter indicates the chamber in which…

Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia Description Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is defined as three or more consecutive ventricular beats occurring at a rate of 100 beats or more per minute. Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) ( Fig. 6.1 ) is defined as VT lasting…

Supraventricular tachycardia Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a rhythm disturbance with a rate greater than 100 that requires tissue from above the His-Purkinje system to perpetuate. SVT can be regular (e.g., atrioventricular [AV] node reentry), irregular (e.g., atrial flutter [AFL] with…