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Dawn's picture

Instructors' Collection ECG: Ventricular Standstill

The Patient: This 72-year-old woman called EMS because of a sudden onset of breathlessness and anxiety. She had a history of COPD (asthma), CHF, and Type II diabetes. We do not know her medications or any other history. She was found to have bilateral breath sounds with "minimal" expiratory wheezing. She was alert and very anxious. Her initial pulse rate was recorded at around 60 bpm and irregular. A systolic BP was heard at 140 mm Hg, but the paramedic could not hear a pulse after that. She was given oxygen via CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure). The first ECG at 15:50 was recorded during this assessment. After appearing to improve, she became neurologically altered, and her level of consciousness varied during the call. She was turned over to emergency department staff conscious and able to speak, but had a cardiac arrest subsequently. The paramedics were unable to obtain followup information regarding the outcome.

ECG at 1550: The first QRS on the recording has no associated P wave, and is presumed to be an escape beat, probably junctional, with an interventricular conduction delay (QRS .12 sec.). This is a right bundle branch block pattern with left anterior fascicular block (bifascicular block). The second QRS is about the same width, but with a different morphology and discordant T waves, so probably ventricular. The third QRS is very much like the first, except that it appears to be conducted from the preceding P wave. For the next five seconds, there are only P waves, which are regular at about 130 bpm. The three-beat pattern seen at the beginning repeats itself near the end.

This ECG shows evidence of severe conduction blocks. The wide QRS complexes indicate interventricular blocks. In this case, some are probably premature ventricular contractions and some are sinus beats with bifascicular block. Even more worrisome is the intermittent loss of AV conduction. This can be called "intermittent trifascicular block", or "intermittent ventricular standstill". This is not a "third-degree AV block", because there are signs of AV conduction, but it is very close. With two of the three main fasicles of the left bundle branch blocked initially, it only takes a block in the remaining fascicle to produce a complete lack of AV conduction. Of course, there are no pulses during the time of ventricular standstill. The really concerning part of this situation is the lack of an ESCAPE RHYTHM. This is a good time for a temporary pacemaker, either transcutaneous or, if available, transvenous.

Dr A Röschl's picture

Atrial Flutter With Right Bundle Branch Block and Left Anterior Fascicular Block In a Patient With Preexisting RBBB + LAFB

If a wide complex tachycardia occurs, the probability is very high that it is a ventricular tachycardia (approx. 80%, in patients with a previous myocardial infarction (...) approx. 90%). Here we see a broad complex tachycardia that looks like an RBBB + LAFB, which is regular. In this constellation, 3 causes must be considered:
1. fascicular tachycardia from the left posterior fascicle of the left tawara fascicle (QRS width usually only around 130 ms, but sometimes significantly longer).
2. AT/AFL with 2:1 conduction in the case of pre-existing bifascicular block

Dr A Röschl's picture

Impending Trifascicular AV Block

Here we see the EKG of a 63-year-old man with CAD without relevant coronary stenosis. He complains of slightly reduced performance, but no other symptoms. The ECG shows the following changes:

Dawn's picture

Marked Bradycardia With Bifascicular Block

The Patient:    This ECG was taken from an elderly woman. Unfortunately, we do not know any details about the case.  That acknowledged, there are many interesting aspects to this ECG.

The ECG:  The first thing we notice is the severe bradycardia – almost certain to be symptomatic.  The rate is 32 bpm and the rhythm is regular.  There are no P waves.  This is a junctional rhythm, slightly slower than expected from junctional escape.

The QRS shows the presence of right bundle branch block.  Each QRS on the ECG starts as a narrow complex, but then adds an “extra” wave onto the end – the delay caused by the right ventricle depolarizing late.  The terminal delay is very noticeable in V1 as an R’ wave, and in Leads I and V6 as a small, wide s wave.  There is right axis deviation, so the diagnosis of bifascicular block (RBBB and left posterior fascicular block) can be made.

V2 through V6 show fragmentation of the QRS complexes and a loss of voltage and R wave progression.  This points to anterior wall M.I. We can’t know the age of the M.I. without clinical correlation, but the ST segments in those leads are very flat, with uniformly symmetrical inverted T waves all the way to V6.  All of these signs indicate recent injury.  An anterior M.I. can cause the bifascicular block we are seeing, since the bundle branches begin in the septum.

Dawn's picture

High-grade AV Block With Profound Bradycardia

If you are an ECG instructor, you probably carefully choose ECGs to illustrate the topic you are teaching. One of the reasons for the existence of the ECG Guru website is our desire to provide lots of such illustrations for you to choose from.

Sometimes, though, an ECG does not clearly illustrate one specific dysrhythmia well, because the interpretation of the ECG depends on so many other factors.  In order to get it “right”, we would need to know information about the patient’s history, presentation, lab results, or previous ECGs. We might need to see the ECG done immediately before or after the one we are looking at.  Some ECG findings must ultimately be confirmed by an electrophysiology study before we can know for sure what is going on.

For those of us who are “ECG nerds”, it can be fun to debate our opinions and even more fun to hear from wiser, more advanced practitioners about their interpretations.

My belief, as a clinical instructor, is that we must teach strategies for treating the patient who has a “controversial” ECG that take into account the level of the practitioner, the care setting, and the patient’s hemodynamic status.  In some settings, it might be absolutely forbidden for a first-responder to cardiovert atrial fibrillation, for example.  But atrial fib is routinely cardioverted under controlled conditions in hospitals.  The general rule followed by emergency providers that “all wide-complex tachycardias are v tach until proven otherwise” has no doubt prevented deaths in situations where care providers did not agree on the origin of the tachycardia.

The ECG:    We do not have much patient information to go with this ECG, just that it is from a 71-year-old woman who developed severe hypotension and lost consciousness, but was revived with transcutaneous pacing.   Here is what we do know about this ECG:

·        There are regular P waves, at a rate of about 39 bpm (sinus bradycardia).

Dawn's picture

Tachycardia In An Unresponsive Patient

 The Patient     This ECG was obtained from a 28-year-old woman who was found in her home, unresponsive.  She was hypotensive at 99/35.  No one was available to provide information about past medical history or the onset of this event.

Before you read my comments, pause to look at the ECG and see what YOU think.  We would welcome comments below from all our members!

The ECG     This ECG is quite challenging, as it illustrates the helpfulness of ECG changes in patient diagnosis, and also points out how important clinical correlation is when the ECG suggests multiple different problems. Forgive me in advance, but there is a lot to say about this ECG.

The heart rate is 148 bpm, and the rhythm is regular, although not perfectly. P waves are not seen, even though the ECG machine gives a P wave axis and PR interval measurement. The rate is fast enough to bury the P waves in the preceding T waves, especially if there is first-degree AV block. Differential dx: sinus tachycardia, PSVT, atrial flutter. The very slight irregularity points more towards sinus tachycardia.  The rate of nearly 150 suggests atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction, but the only lead that looks remotely like it has flutter waves is V2. The lack of an onset or offset of the rhythm makes it difficult to diagnose PSVT with any certainty.

Dawn's picture

Bifascicular Block With First-degree AVB

The Patient  This ECG was obtained from an 80-year-old man with a past medical history of hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

 

He presented to the hospital with a complaint of shortness of breath, and was determined to have an exacerbation of his COPD in the setting of a viral infection.  He was treated with breathing treatments and steroids, and was discharged home in improved condition.

The ECG   There is a sinus rhythm at 80 bpm.  The QRS complex is wide at .18 seconds (180 ms). The PR interval is slightly prolonged at .24 seconds (240 ms), which is first-degree AV block. There is right bundle branch block (QR in V1 and rS in Leads I and V6 with a wide QRS).  There is also a left posterior fascicular block (also called hemiblock), recognized by the right axis deviation (III is taller than aVF ).  This is bi-fascicular block, which can be chronic or acute.  There is very slight ST elevation with flattening in V1 and possibly V2.  In RBBB, “normal” T waves are directed opposite the terminal wave of the QRS.  V3 should, then, have inverted T waves. So, the upright T wave in this patient could be considered to be equivalent to an inversion in a normal ECG.  V4 through V6 have biphasic T waves, which is not normal for RBBB.  Because we do not have an old ECG, we don’t know which, if any, of these changes are chronic.  With this patient’s past medical history, it is possible for any of them to be pre-existing.

I will admit that, when I first saw this ECG, the V1 rhythm strip at the bottom looked as though there were regular P waves at a rate of about 220-240, with one buried in each QRS and one in each T wave. In scrutinizing all the other leads, I cannot find evidence for an underlying atrial tachycardia or atrial flutter, so it is probably a coincidence that the P and T “march out” with the assumption of a hidden P wave in the QRS.

Dawn's picture

Bifascicular Block

This ECG is from a 77 year old woman who was brought to the Emergency Department by EMS. She was found to be suffering from sepsis.

ECG Interpretation      The ECG shows the expected sinus tachycardia at 123 beats per minute.  There is significant baseline artifact, of the type usually seen with muscle tension.  The artifact makes it difficult to assess P waves and PR intervals.

 

What we do see is RIGHT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK and LEFT ANTERIOR HEMIBLOCK, also called LEFT ANTERIOR FASCICULAR BLOCK.  Together, these are called BIFASCICULAR BLOCK.  Most people have three main fascicles in the interventricular conduction system:  the right bundle branch and the two branches of the left bundle branch, the anterior-superior fascicle and the posterior-inferior fascicle.  In bifascicular block, two of the three are blocked.

The ECG criteria for right bundle branch block are:

     *     wide QRS (> .12 seconds)

 

     *     rSR’ pattern in V1 .  (the initial R wave may be hard to see, but the QRS will be predominantly upright.

Dawn's picture

Left Bundle Branch Block With Second-Degree AV Block, Type II

 This ECG was obtained from an 84-year-old woman who was scheduled for surgery.  When the anesthesiologist did this ECG, the surgery was cancelled. It is a very good example of fascicular-level blocks. 

The underlying rhythm is a regular sinus rhythm at about 95 bpm.  There are some non-conducted P waves which are part of the sinus rhythm (not premature beats).  When the P waves DO conduct, the PR interval is steady at about .15 seconds (148 ms).

In addition, there is a LEFT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK.  The ECG criteria for LBBB are:  1) A supraventricular rhythm, 2) A wide QRS, and 3) A negative QRS in Lead V1 and a positive QRS in Leads I and V6.  The QRS duration in this ECG is 136 ms.

There are generally two fascicles (branches) in the left bundle branch, and one main fascicle in the right bundle branch.  So, a LBBB represents a “bi-fascicular block”.  That means that A-V conduction is proceeding down only one fascicle (the right bundle branch).  In that fascicle, there is an “intermittent” block.  When the RBB is not blocked, we see a QRS.  When it is blocked, we see none.  This is then termed an “intermittent tri-fascicular block” – otherwise known as SECOND-DEGREE AV BLOCK, TYPE II.  Type II blocks nearly always have a wide QRS due to the underlying bundle branch pathology.  You may see RBBB, LBBB, or RBBB with left anterior fascicular block (hemiblock).  Very rarely, the combination might include left posterior hemiblock.  The intermittent block in the “healthiest” fascicle(s) is what makes this a second-degree block, and not a complete heart block (third-degree AVB).

The clinical implications of this block are that the heart is operating on only one fascicle, and that fascicle is showing obvious signs of distress.  A third-degree AVB could be imminent.  In addition, LBBB causes a wide QRS, which decreases cardiac output.  Second-degree, Type II AVBs can result in very slow rates, and sometimes cause more hemodynamic instability that some third-degree AV blocks.

This patient was scheduled for pacemaker implantation instead of the originally-scheduled surgery. 

Dawn's picture

Bifascicular Block and Sinus Bradycardia

Today’s ECG is from a 75 year old man who has been experiencing syncope. 

Examination of the ECG shows a sinus bradycardia at just under 40 bpm.  There is a first-degree AV block, with a PR interval of about .28 seconds (280 ms).  There is a right bundle branch block.  The ECG criteria for right bundle branch block are:  supraventricular rhythm, wide QRS (120 ms in this case), rSR’ pattern in V1, and  a small, wide S wave in Leads I and V6.  There is actually a “terminal delay”, or extra wave at the end of each QRS complex, reflecting late repolarization of the right ventricle. 

This ECG also shows a left anterior fascicular block, also called left anterior hemiblock.  The left bundle branch usually has two main branches, the anterior-superior and the posterior-inferior.  ECG criteria for left anterior fascicular block are: left axis deviation with a small r wave in Lead III and a small q waves with tall R waves in Leads I and aVL.  There is also a prolonged R wave peak time (> 45 ms) in aVL. There is usually a slightly prolonged QRS, but in this case, there is widening of the QRS due to the RBBB.   Because the right bundle branch is blocked, and one fascicle of the left bundle is blocked, the patient is said to have a “bifascicular block”.  Only one fascicle remains available for conduction from the atria to the ventricles.

We have no information about what caused the conduction block in these two fascicles, but should the third fascicle fail, the patient will be in a complete AV block.  An AV block at the level of the bundle branches will result in an idioventricular escape rhythm – wide QRS complexes with very slow rates – which is a low-output rhythm.  

This patient has also had syncope, which was determined to be related to his bradycardia.  He had an AV sequential pacemaker implanted and did well.

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