We are continuing with the topic of teaching your students to use multiple leads to evaluate ECGs.  Sometimes, beginners are given the impression that they need to learn 12-lead assessment only for the purpose of discovering ST elevation M.I.   Of course, this is a very valuable use of 12-lead ECG, but when evaluating dysrhythmias and other cardiac issues, the more leads you have available to you, the more accurate you will be.

In today's example, the first short Lead II rhythm strip shows a sinus bradycardia.  Your most experienced students may notice that the QRS complex is wide, at about .14 seconds.  Most beginners, however, will fail to see this because the QRS is biphasic - partly positive and partly negative.  This produces an illusion of a more narrow QRS.  Show your students the same patient's 12-lead ECG, and they should readily see the wide QRS and the LEFT BUNDLE BRANCH BLOCK.  It is difficult to demonstrate the criteria for LBBB without multiple leads.

To review, the ECG criteria for LBBB are:  wide QRS, supraventricular rhythm, negative QRS in V1, positive QRS in Leads I and V6.  In this example, the wide QRS is readily seen in monophasic leads such as Leads I and V1.  The supraventricular rhythm (sinus brady) can be appreciated by seeing P waves in all limb leads except aVR, and the chest leads V3 through V6.  If your students have difficulty determining the QRS width, have them look at the computer reading at the top (136 ms) and then check again with the QRS complexes. If P waves are difficult to see, look at the computer reading again.  Did the computer measure a PR interval? In this case, yes.  The PRI is 176 ms.  The computer also provides a P wave axis.  These are fairly reliable signs that P waves exist.  Remember, in a 12-lead ECG, the multiple channels - in this case three - are set up to run simultaneously.  Therefore, if a P wave is easy to see in one lead, but difficult to see in the same heartbeat above or below the easy one, we can assume the P wave exists in the hard-to-see lead.  For example, in this ECG, we know V2 has a P wave because V3 does.

Try looking through some of the ECG archives here on the ECG Guru and see how many 12-lead ECGs you can find that would be misdiagnosed if only one lead was available.

This ECG shows a wide-complex tachycardia with a rate of 137/minute.  No patient information is available other than what is on the ECG.  Here, we will comment for the BASIC LEVEL learner, and allow the ECG Gurus out there to add INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED level comments.

Beginners and emergency workers should ALWAYS be cautioned to treat all wide-complex tachycardias as VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA until proven to be something else.  V Tach is a life-threatening dysrhythmia, and there should be no delay in treatment.  That being said, not all WCTs are V Tach.  The most common "mimic" of V Tach is left bundle branch block.  LBBB can appear along with any supraventricular rhythm, including sinus rhythms, atrial tachycardias, atrial fibrillation, and junctional rhythms.  The diagnostic criteria for LBBB are:  wide QRS (.12 seconds or more), supraventricular rhythm, negative QRS in V1 and positive QRS in V6 and Lead I.  This ECG meets the criteria for LBBB, except that the supraventricular rhythm is hard to prove.  On one hand, P waves are not seen - or at least not easily.  On the other hand, the ECG machine has recorded a PR interval and a P wave axis.  What do you think?

Some of the criteria that would favor the diagnosis of V Tach are not present here: precordial concordance (all QRS complexes in V1 through V6 pointing in same direction), V6 with a negative QRS, AV dissociation.  An extreme axis, especially extreme right, would favor V Tach.  This ECG has an abnormal left axis, which is possible in V Tach AND in LBBB.   For a more thorough discussion by ECG Guru Jason Roediger of the criteria for differentiating V Tach from LBBB and other aberrancy, go to this LINK.

In an emergency setting, WTCs are most often V Tach.  However, should the rhythm turn out to be SVT with aberrant conduction, the usual V Tach treatment protocols would do no harm.  For instance, if the patient is deemed to be "unstable", electric cardioversion is recommended for both V Tach and SVT.  If the patient is stable, the emergency drugs usually recommended are generally safe for both rhythms.

Care should be taken to differentiate SINUS tachycardia from SVT or V Tach.  Sinus tachycardia usually has an obvious physiologic cause (hypoxia, hypovolemia, fear, pain, fever, etc.).  Sinus tachycardia also will be variable in rate, slowing as the cause is alleviated, or speeding if the problem causing the tachycardia becomes worse.  It may require  a long period of observation to determine that the rate is gradually slowing or speeding up.  One would hope to find P waves at some point in sinus tachycardia, and a 12-lead ECG is a great help.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMMENTS FROM OUR MEMBERS.

This is a great ECG for teaching your students about some of the different causes of wide QRS.  This 89 year old man has a sinus rhythm that is around 100 bpm, and his QRS is widened at 148 ms (.148 sec).  Leads I and V6 are positive, and Lead V1 is negative, meeting the criteria for left bundle branch block. There is a left axis deviation, which is common with LBBB, although it is not always this pronounced, indicating that there is possibly another cause for LAD.  In this ECG, there are also PVCs and probable fusion beats.  The 14th beat is a PVC.  Complexes 1, 6, and 9 are possibly fusion beats. Fusion can be described as an almost simultaneous sinus beat and ventricular beat.  The depolarization waves, one coming from the top of the heart and one coming from the bottom, meet and "fuse" on the ECG.  Fusion beats will have some characteristics of the supraventricular beats and some of the ventricular beats.  They are not significant except that fusion can be said to "prove" the existence of a ventricular pacemaker - either a natural pacemaker or an electronic one.

Do you see anything else interesting in this ECG?  How would YOU describe this rhythm?  Please do not hesitate to add your comments, or ask questions of the experts who contribute to this site.  We will respond quickly to all questions.

This ECG was presented earlier this week as an example of SVT with LBBB aberrancy, which was ultimately converted with one dose of adenosine in the Emergency Department.  It is the most shared and commented on ECG yet to appear on the Guru.  The diagnosis given was the one accepted by the medical staff who cared for the patient, who was a man in his 30's who presented to the Emergency Department complaining of a rapid heart rate.  He was ambulatory with stable vital signs, in spite of the tachycardia. He reported that he has had several episodes of fast heart rate which responded to either Valsalva maneuvers or, in some cases, medication in the ED.  He was told he might benefit from an ablation procedure, but he did not have health insurance and continued to use the ED as his primary source of medical care.  When he was admitted to the ED, the tech initially called for help, thinking the monitor showed ventricular tachycardia.  The ED physician felt that this represented LBBB aberrancy, possibly rate-dependent, and he treated the patient with adenosine.  The rhythm converted to sinus after one dose, and the patient remained stable throughout the process.  He was advised to undergo further observation and testing, but he declined due to financial concerns, and the fact that he usually succeeded in relieving his symptoms with "bearing down".  

Wide-complex tachycardias can be difficult to assess simply from an ECG. The patient's stability depends more upon general health and cardiac output issues than the origin of the tachycardia.  When we presented this ECG, we also presented the diagnosis he had upon discharge from the ED.

Subsequently, ECG Guru Dr. Ken Grauer, a frequent contributer to this site, offered his alternative diagnosis and his explanation of why he believes this to be v tach.  Other well-respected ECG experts have also questioned the original diagnosis.  Please refer to the comments below for this very helpful explanation.  Unfortunately, this patient is lost to followup, as this incident occurred some time ago.

WTCs remain a most fascinating topic, especially for those who enjoy "detective work".  We thank Dr. Grauer, Tom Bouthillet, and others for their contributions to the ECG Guru on this topic.