Basic arrhythmias

Описание

GLOSSARY
ACLS: Advanced cardiac life support.
AF: Atrial Flutter.
Af: Atrial Fibrillation.
AMI: Acute myocardial infarction.
ANS: Autonomic nervous system.
Anterior MI: Infarction of the anterior wall of
the heart, most often caused by occlusion of the
Left Anterior Descending coronary artery.
Anterior Surface: The plane of the heart that
faces forward, abutting the chest wall.
Anterobasal MI: Anterior wall infarction localized to the base (top) of the heart.
Anterolateral MI: Anterior wall infarction
localized to the area of the lateral wall.
Anteroseptal MI: Anterior wall infarction localized to the area of the septum.
Aorta: Artery that carries oxygenated blood
from the left ventricle to distal parts of the body.
Aortic Valve: The valve that controls passage of
blood from the left ventricle to the aorta.
Apex: The lower point of the heart.
Apical MI: Infarction localized to the apex
(bottom) of the heart.
Arrhythmia: The graphic representation of the
heart’s electrical activity; the term is loosely used to
mean an abnormality of the heart’s electrical function, but it is also used to categorize patterns of electrical activity, not all of which are necessarily
abnormal or bad; also called dysrhythmia; it can
also be used to mean that a rhythm is not regular.
Artifact: Electrical activity displayed on graph paper that is superimposed on cardiac tracings, interfering with interpretation of the rhythm; can be
caused by outside electrical sources, muscle
tremors, patient movement; also called interference.
Asystole: The absence of any cardiac electrical
activity; appears as a straight line on graph paper.
AT: Atrial Tachycardia.
Atria: The upper two chambers of the heart.
Atrial Arrhythmia: A cardiac arrhythmia originating from the conduction system within the atria.
Atrial Fibrillation (Af): The cardiac arrhythmia in
which the atria are controlled by numerous irritable foci, thereby causing ineffectual, chaotic atrial
activity and irregular ventricular response.
Atrial Flutter (AF): The cardiac arrhythmia in
which an irritable focus in the atria produces a
rapid, repetitive discharge, resulting in rhythmic
atrial depolarizations at a rate of 250–350 bpm,
some of which are usually blocked by the AV node
to keep the ventricular rate in a more normal range.
Atrial Hypertrophy: Enlargement of myocardial
wall in one or more of the atria.
Atrial Kick: The increased pressure of atrial contraction immediately before ventricular contraction;
this “priming” force increases ventricular efficiency,
and can account for up to 30% of cardiac output.
Atrial Pacemaker: An electrical stimulus originating in the atria that paces the heart; an artificial pacemaker that stimulates only the atria.
Atrial Tachycardia (AT): The cardiac arrhythmia in which a single irritable focus in the atria
takes over control of the heart to produce a rate of
150–250 bpm; this arrhythmia is often paroxysmal
in nature—that is, it starts and stops suddenly;
in that instance it is called Paroxysmal Atrial
Tachycardia (PAT).
Atrioventricular Dissociation: A conduction defect
that causes the atria and ventricles to depolarize
and function independently; AV Dissociation.

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