Flashcards: Cardiac arrhythmia

Cardiac arrhythmia, also known as cardiac dysrhythmia or irregular heartbeat, is a group of conditions in which the heartbeat is irregular, too fast, or too slow.

Asystole, also known as flatline, is a state of no electrical activity from the heart and therefore no blood flow.

Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below 35.

Cardiac arrest is a sudden stop in effective blood flow due to the failure of the heart to contract effectively.

Stokes–Adams syndrome (alternative eponyms include Adams–Stokes syndrome, Gerbezius-Morgagni-Adams–Stokes syndrome and Gerbec-Morgagni-Adams–Stokes syndrome) is a periodic fainting spell in which there is a periodic onset and offset of blockage of heart due to disorder of heart rhythm that may last for seconds, hours, days, or even weeks before the conduction returns.

Pulseless electrical activity (PEA), also known by as electromechanical dissociation, refers to cardiac arrest in which a heart rhythm is observed on the electrocardiogram that should be producing a pulse, but is not.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a genetic disease that is characterised by abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) findings and an increased risk of sudden cardiac death.

Atrial fibrillation (AF or A-fib) is an abnormal heart rhythm characterized by rapid and irregular beating.

Atrioventricular block (AV block) is a type of heart block in which the conduction between the atria and ventricles of the heart is impaired.

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (WPW) is one of several disorders of the electrical system of the heart that are commonly referred to as pre-excitation syndromes.

Heart block is a disease or inherited condition that causes a fault within the heart's natural pacemaker due to some kind of obstruction (or "block") in the electrical conduction system of the heart.

Short QT syndrome is a genetic disease of the electrical system of the heart.

Atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia, atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia or AVRT, is a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) most commonly associated with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, in which an accessory pathway allows electrical signal from the ventricles to enter the atria and cause premature contraction and repeat stimulation of the atrioventricular node.

Bradycardia, also known as bradyarrhythmia, is a slow heart rate, defined as a heart rate of under 60 beats per minute (BPM) in adults.

Lev's disease (or Lenegre-Lev syndrome) is an acquired complete heart block due to idiopathic fibrosis and calcification of the electrical conduction system of the heart.

Accelerated idioventricular rhythm is ventricular rhythm with a rate of between 40 and 120 beats per minute.

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a rare congenital and inherited or acquired heart condition in which delayed repolarization of the heart following a heartbeat increases the risk of episodes of torsades de pointes (TdP, a form of irregular heartbeat that originates from the ventricles).

Premature atrial contractions (PACs), also known as atrial premature complexes (APC) or atrial premature beats (APB), are a common cardiac dysrhythmia characterized by premature heartbeats originating in the atria.

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is an abnormally fast heart rhythm arising from improper electrical activity in upper part of the heart.

Atrial flutter (AFL) is an abnormal heart rhythm that occurs in the atria of the heart.

Sick sinus syndrome (SSS), also called sinus dysfunction, or sinoatrial node disease ("SND"), is a group of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) presumably caused by a malfunction of the sinus node, the heart's primary pacemaker.

Commotio cordis (Latin, "agitation of the heart") is an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart (the precordial region), at a critical time during the cycle of a heart beat causing cardiac arrest.

A wandering atrial pacemaker, (WAP), is an atrial arrhythmia that occurs when the natural cardiac pacemaker site shifts between the sinoatrial node (SA node), the atria, and/or the atrioventricular node (AV node).

The initial impulse in a heart is usually formed in the Sinoatrial (SA) node and carried through the atria, down the internodal atrial pathways, and to the Atrioventricular (AV) node.

A right bundle branch block (RBBB) is a heart block in the electrical conduction system.

AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), or atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia, is a type of tachycardia (fast rhythm) of the heart.

Ectopic beat (or cardiac ectopy) is a disturbance of the cardiac rhythm frequently related to the electrical conduction system of the heart, in which beats arise from fibers or group of fibers outside the region in the heart muscle ordinarily responsible for impulse formation (i.e., the sinoatrial node).

Palpitation is a perceived abnormality of the heartbeat characterized by awareness of heart muscle contractions in the chest: hard beats, fast beats, irregular beats, and/or pauses.

Andersen–Tawil syndrome, also called Andersen syndrome and Long QT syndrome 7, is a form of long QT syndrome.

Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) is a rare syndrome of the heart that manifests in patients recovering from heart surgery.

Premature heart beats come in two different types, premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contractions.

Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is when the heart quivers instead of pumps due to disorganized electrical activity in the ventricles.

A premature ventricular contraction (PVC) — also known as a premature ventricular complex, ventricular premature contraction (or complex or complexes) (VPC), ventricular premature beat (VPB), or ventricular extrasystole (VES) — is a relatively common event where the heartbeat is initiated by Purkinje fibers in the ventricles rather than by the sinoatrial node, the normal heartbeat initiator.

Torsades de pointes or torsade de pointes (TdP or simply torsade(s)) (French: [tɔʁsad də pwɛ̃t], translated as "twisting of the points"), is a specific type of abnormal heart rhythm that can lead to sudden cardiac death.

A left posterior fascicular block (LPFB) is a condition where the left posterior fascicle, which travels to the inferior and posterior portion of the left ventricle, does not conduct the electrical impulses from the atrioventricular node.

Multifocal (or multiform) atrial tachycardia (MAT) is an abnormal heart rhythm, specifically a type of supraventricular tachycardia, that is particularly common in older people and is associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Re-entry ventricular arrhythmia is a type of paroxysmal tachycardia occurring in the ventricle where the cause of the arrhythmia is due to the electric signal not completing the normal circuit, but rather an alternative circuit looping back upon itself.

Pacemaker failure is the inability of an implanted artificial pacemaker to perform its intended function of regulating the beating of the heart.

Sinus tachycardia (also colloquially known as sinus tach or sinus tachy) is a sinus rhythm with an elevated rate of impulses, defined as a rate greater than 100 beats/min (bpm) in an average adult.

First-degree atrioventricular block (AV block), or PR prolongation, is a disease of the electrical conduction system of the heart in which the PR interval is lengthened beyond 0.

Trifascicular block is a problem with the electrical conduction of the heart.

Wellens' syndrome (Wellens' sign, Wellens' warning, or Wellens' waves) is an electrocardiographic manifestation of critical proximal left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery stenosis in patients with unstable angina.

Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) is a type of regular and fast heart rate that arises from improper electrical activity in the ventricles of the heart.

Ashman phenomenon, also known as Ashman beats, describes a particular type of wide QRS complex, often seen isolated that is typically seen in atrial fibrillation.

Pacemaker syndrome is a disease that represents the clinical consequences of suboptimal atrioventricular (AV) synchrony or AV dyssynchrony, regardless of the pacing mode, after pacemaker implantation.

Second-degree atrioventricular block (AV block) is a disease of the electrical conduction system of the heart.

Third-degree atrioventricular block (AV block), also known as complete heart block, is a medical condition in which the impulse generated in the sinoatrial node (SA node) in the atrium of the heart does not propagate to the ventricles.

Holiday heart syndrome is an irregular heartbeat pattern presented in individuals who are otherwise healthy.

Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) is a type of supraventricular tachycardia.

Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), also called familial polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (FPVT) or catecholamine-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, is a disorder characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia).

In medicine, an agonal heart rhythm is a variant of asystole in which occasional P waves and QRS complexes can be seen on the electrocardiogram.

Atrial tachycardia is a type of heart rhythm problem in which the heart's electrical impulse comes from an ectopic pacemaker (that is, an abnormally located cardiac pacemaker) in the upper chambers (atria) of the heart, rather than from the sinoatrial node, the normal origin of the heart's electrical activity.

Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome (JLNS) is a type of long QT syndrome, associated with severe, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Junctional tachycardia is a form of supraventricular tachycardia characterized by involvement of the AV node.

Pre-excitation syndrome is a cardiac arrhythmia in which the ventricles of the heart become depolarized too early, which leads to their partial premature contraction.

Ventricular flutter is an arrhythmia, more specifically a tachycardia affecting the ventricles with a rate over 250-350 beats/min.

Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome (LGL) is a pre-excitation syndrome of the heart due to abnormal electrical communication between the atria and the ventricles.