jer5150's picture

 

Patient's clinical data:  55-year-old white man on spinal cord ward.

To the computer's original statements (bottom 3 lines with grey background), the cardiology fellow free-hand texted the capitalized word in blue.  He also added the diagnostic statement behind it (top line):

MARKED Sinus bradycardia with Sinus arrhythmia
Incomplete right bundle branch block
Nonspecific T wave abnormality
Abnormal ECG

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE COMPUTER AND/OR THE CARDIOLOGY FELLOW?

Questions:
(1.)  What’s the most common cause of a sudden, unexpected pause?
(2.)  Are the ventricular cycles waxing and waning here?
(3.)  What’s the differential diagnosis?

Rate this content: 
Average: 2 (1 vote)

Comments

Looks to be a sinus rhythm, P waves upright in I and aVF. Mostly regular sinus rhythm at a rate slightly faster than 60 bpm. There appears to be incomplete right bundle branch block as well.

The pauses are two times the P-P interval, which leads me to believe the sinus node is firing, and the signal is not penetrating the atrial tissue. The next P comes on time, and conduction is normal. 

This SA exit block could be caused by sick sinus syndrome, due to pathology or advanced age.

I agree with DaveB. This is 2:1 SA exit block.

jer5150's picture

INTERPRETATION:
(1.)  Sick sinus syndrome (SSS) manifest in the form of . . .
(2.)  . . . sinus rhythm (discharge rate about 63/min) with . . .
(3.)  . . . Type II sinoatrial (S-A) block; (see laddergram)
(4.)  Incomplete right bundle-branch block.

Jason E. Roediger - Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT)
[email protected]

All our content is FREE & COPYRIGHT FREE for non-commercial use

Please be courteous and leave any watermark or author attribution on content you reproduce.