The patient:  This ECG is taken from a 55-year-old man whose wife called 911 because he had a syncopal episode.  When the paramedics arrived, he was conscious and alert, and denied any symptoms.  He gave a history of "cardiac", diabetes, and opiate abuse.  We do not know the nature of his cardiac history or his medications.  

It is difficult to pinpoint a definite diagnosis with this lack of information and a clearly abnormal ECG.  We will limit our discussion to listing the abnormalities seen:

The ECG rhythm:  There is a fast, regular rhythm that is supraventricular in origin (there are P waves).  When a supraventricular rhythm has a rate of about 150 per minute, we should ALWAYS consider ATRIAL FLUTTER WITH 2:1 CONDUCTION.  Atrial flutter produces P waves (flutter waves) at approximately 250-350 per minute.  The normal AV node is able to conduct half of these, at a rate of about 150 per minute. Atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction is the most common presentation of new-onset atrial flutter.  It is often missed by people who expect to see several flutter waves in a row, producing the "sawtooth pattern".  That being said, atrial flutter is usually discernable in at least a few leads if it is present.  We do not see any signs of flutter waves in this ECG.

That leaves us with a differential diagnosis of sinus tachycardia vs. one of the regular supraventricular tachycardias like reentrant tachycardias or atrial tachycardia.  Sinus tachycardia can be recognized by several features. If we are fortunate enough to witness the onset or offset of the fast rhythm, will will recognize sinus tachycardia by a "warm up" or gradual speeding up of the rate, and a "cool down", or gradual slowing.  On the other hand, SVTs often have abrupt onset and offset.  Sinus tachycardia often has a very obvious cause, such as hypovolemia, fever, pain, anxiety, vigorous exercise, or hypoxia.  Sinus tachycardia usually has a distinct, upright P wave in Lead II, and a clearly-seen, often negative, P wave in Lead V1.  This ECG does not show the onset of the tachycardia, and is not long enough to evaluate for rate changes. Lead II appears to have upright P waves on the downslope of the previous T waves. V1 has deeply negative P waves, and V4 has the most clearly-seen P waves.  Without being positive, this looks more like sinus tachycardia than a reentrant tachycardia.  It would help to know more about the patient's condition.

This wide-complex tachycardia is ventricular tachycardia.  Along with the wide QRS and the fast rate, features which favor a diagnosis of VT over BBB include:  backwards (extreme right) QRS axis, negative QRS in V6, and an apparently monophasic QRS in V1, as opposed to the rSR' pattern of right bundle branch block. 
Remember, ALL wide-QRS tachycardias should be treated as V Tach until proven otherwise, as it is a life-threatening arrhythmia.  Factors which lower cardiac output during V Tach include:  Fast rate, wide QRS, and lack of P wave preceding the QRS.  The sudden severe lowering of perfusion that usually accompanies V Tach can lead to rapid deterioraton and ventricular fibrillation.

For discussions by Jason Roediger (ECG GURU extroidonairre) on recognizing ventricular tachycardia, go to this LINK, and this LINK.

This ECG was taken from a patient who was complaining of palpitations and tachycardia, but who was hemodynamically stable, with no history of heart disease.  It is an example of RIGHT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW TRACT TACHYCARDIA, a type of idiopathic ventricular tachycardia.  The ECG signs of RVOT are:  wide QRS complex, left bundle branch block pattern (QRS negative in V1 and positive in Leads I and V6), heart rate over 100 bpm, rightward or inferior axis (LBBB usually has a normal to leftward axis), AV dissociation.

RVOT accounts for about 10% of all ventricular tachycardias, and 70% of idiopathic VT.  It is most often found in structurally normal hearts, but it may occur in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.  For more on RVOT, read Life In the Fast Lane.

RVOT tachycardia sometimes converts with adenosine.  The patient in this example converted after being administered amiodarone.

This two-lead rhythm strip clearly shows the transition from normal sinus rhythm to a paroxysmal supraventricular rhythm.  In this case, the arrhythmia is AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, AVNRT.  The rate of the first rhythm, NSR, is around 75 per minute.  The fourth beat on the strip is a PAC which initiates the paroxysm of tachycardia lasting 12 beats.  The arrhythmia terminates spontaneously at that point.  The tachycardia rate is about 150/min.

The topic of supraventricular tachycardias can be a very complex one to teach.  For an excellent example of a concise lesson geared toward Primary Practice physicians, go to Dr. Grauer's VIDEO - Part III of his Arrhythmia series.

To cover the important points for the beginner-level student:

  *  It can be difficult to determine a rhythm is SVT if the rhythm is near 150 bpm and you DON'T see the beginning or end of the arrhythmia.  If the onset (or offset) is sudden, then this is not a sinus rhythm.  The sinus node speeds and slows more gradually - it doesn't change rates in one heartbeat.  This strip has an excellent view of BOTH the onset and the offset.

  *  The faster the rate, the more likely we are looking at a PSVT rather than sinus rhythm.  If a sinus tachycardia exists, we can almost ALWAYS see the reason for it in the patient's clinical situation.  We may see fever, dehydration, bleeding, fear, pain, exercise.  Therefore, a patient at rest with a rate of 150 would be suspect for PSVT.  A patient on a treadmill for 5 minutes would be considered to have a sinus rhythm.

  *  Any patient with a rate around 150 per minute should be evaluated for ATRIAL FLUTTER with 2:1 conduction.  Atrial flutter often conducts at that ratio, because a rate of 150 is fairly easy for the AV node to conduct, whereas the instrinsic rate of atrial flutter (250-350) is not.  A 12-lead ECG makes it easier to search for tell-tale flutter waves.