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Dawn's picture

ECG Basics: Supraventricular Tachycardia

Submitted by Dawn on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 22:20

This strip is from a patient who experienced a sudden onset of palpitations and rapid pulse while at rest.  It shows a narrow-complex tachycardia, specifically a paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.  The subject of supraventricular tachycardias is a fascinating one, and is covered extensively throughout this website.  The mechanisms of SVT are many, and can be complex for the beginning student to understand.  Search the search terms on the left side of the page for entries from ASK the EXPERT and JASON's BLOG for more advanced information about SVT.

For the beginner, it is important to teach the difference between sinus tachycardia and "supraventricular tachycardia".  Of course, sinus tachycardia IS supraventricular - but current convention has us using the term "SVT" for atrial or junctional tachycardias, and especially for reentrant tachycardias.  Beginner students should understand the function of the sinus node, and it's ability to control the heart rate, based on direction given by the nervous system.  The sinus node increases and decreases the rate incrementally, or more gradually than the onset and offset of a reentrant tachycardia.  The appearance of a sudden onset of regular tachycardia following a PAC, producing a rhythm with a distinctly faster rate than the original sinus rhythm, is a sure sign of SVT.  When the onset or offset are caught on the rhythm strip, our job is SO much easier!

The heart rate helps with the diagnosis.  SVTs tend to be faster than sinus tachycardias.  SVTs tend to be faster than 150/min, while sinus rhythms TEND to be slower than 150.  And patients with sinus tachycardia usually have a readily determined reason for the tachycardia, such as fever, pain, fear, hypovolemia, hypoxia, or exertion.  So, a patient on a treadmill for an exercise stress test might very well have a heart rate over 150 / min.

When your students master the understanding of the different behaviors of the sinus node and the reentrant rhythms, and how important patient presentation is to the diagnosis, you will want to add atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation.  When these are mastered, be sure to remind your students that atrial flutter can conduct 2:1, and will mimic sinus tach.  A good rule of thumb is: Under 150/min.:  look for sinus tach first.  Around 150 / min.: look for atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction.  Over 150/min.: suspect PSVT.   

 

Dawn's picture

How do you teach the concept of reentry in PSVT to students with only a basic understanding of dysrhythmias?

Submitted by Dawn on Sun, 03/04/2012 - 02:13

Our expert today is Dr. Ken Grauer. He is a frequent contributer to the ECG Guru.

 

KEN GRAUER, MD is Professor Emeritus (Dept. Community Health/Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida in Gainesville).
Dr. Grauer has been a leading family physician educator for over 30 years. During that time he has published (as principal author) more than 10 books and numerous study aids on the topics of ECG interpretation, cardiac arrhythmias, and ACLS (including an ongoing Educational ECG Blog.

 
Answer:
PSVT is a reentry tachycardia. This arrhythmia carries many names, one of which is AVNRT = AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia - recognizing that in the vast majority of cases, there is reentry occurring in or around the AV node. The AV node is not a homogeneous structure - instead functionally (and anatomically on a microscopic level) - there are 2 basic pathways. One of these conducts "fast" - and the other "slower". Conduction preferentially goes down the "fast" pathway (thereby 'blocking' and preventing conduction down the slow pathway). But if for any reason (like a PAC) the fast pathway is "blocked" - then conduction of the impulse will have to go down the "slow" pathway. If the timing is just right - conditions may be set up that allow "reentry" within the AV node - with the impulse going down the slow pathway and up the fast pathway. Less commonly, reentry within the AV node may be set up in which the impulse goes down the fast pathway and back up the slow pathway.

 

Think of the phenomenon of reentry as comparable to the situation when 50 young children are all holding hands and running around in a circle while holding hands. All it takes is for one disgruntled person to stick out their leg - and ALL 50 of the children who are holding hands will fall down. So it is with reentry - it is a circuit that is set up by fortuitous circumstances of conduction speed, refractory period duration, and usually a precipitating premature impulse. How do we treat AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia (PSVT)? Either by vagal maneuvers or medication such as adenosine, diltiazem/verapamil, or beta-blockers - ALL of which at least transiently alter conduction properties within a portion of the AV node. Just like the disgruntled citizen who stuck out their leg and tripped up all 50 children - all it takes is brief alteration/interruption of the conduction circuit (by meds or vagal maneuver) to terminate an AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia.

 

Simplistic illustration of the concept of reentry appears in the Figure below (excerpted from pp 567-574 of Grauer K, Cavallaro D: ACLS: Comprehensive Review [Vol 2] - 3rd Edition, Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis - 1993). For a more detailed look at reentry - visit: https://www.kg-ekgpress.com/reentry-svt/ - where you can download a pdf of the above 7 pages.

 

Ken Grauer, MD ([email protected])

 

 

Exerpted from pp 567-574 of Grauer  K, Cavallaro D: ACLS: Comprehensive Review (Vol. 2) - 3rd Edition, Mosby Lifeline, St. Louis - 1993.

 

 

 

 

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