EKG Chapter 9 Vocab

a heartbeat created when a part of the heart’s electrical conduction system other than the SA node initiates the electrical impulse that causes the heart to beat

a rhythm in which a part of the heart’s electrical conduction system other than the SA node initiates all electrical impulses that cause the heart to beat (i.e., acts as the heart’s primary pacemaker)

a situation in which an irritable area in the cardiac conduction system begins to generate an impulse even though the SA node may be working normally

difficult or abnormal heart rhythm; includes rhythms that are too fast, too slow, or originate in an area of the heart other than the SA node; sometimes commonly called arrhythmia

a cardiac rhythm originating in the sinus (SA) node

a cardiac rhythm originating in the atria instead of the SA node

a cardiac rhythm originating in the cells near the bundle of His or in the area of the AV junction rather than in the SA node

a cardiac rhythm originating in the ventricles rather than in the SA node; marked on an EKG tracing by a widened QRS complex

a type of cardiac rhythm caused when the AV node or AV bundle delays the electrical impulse from the SA node too long; also called AV block

the basic rhythm of a patient’s heart, separate from any abnormal beats or complexes

a fast sinus rhythm with normal characteristics but with a rate of 100–160 BPM

a slow sinus rhythm with normal characteristics but with a rate below 60 BPM

a sinus rhythm in which all characteristics are normal except for rhythm regularity; R- R intervals are irregular and usually vary with the patient’s breathing

a sinus rhythm resulting when the SA node does not initiate an impulse, causing pauses in the heart’s electrical activity; similar to sinoatrial block but with a greater time between complexes. Also called sinus pause

experiencing symptoms

not experiencing symptoms

an atrial rhythm featuring obvious premature beats; other aspects of the rhythm are often normal

an atrial rhythm that occurs when impulses arise from multiple areas, including the atria, the AV node, and the SA node; also called multiformed atrial rhythm

a fast atrial rhythm caused by irritability in the atria, with a rate of 160–250 BPM

a rhythm related to wandering atrial pacemaker, but with a ventricular rate greater than 100 BPM

can be a general term for all tachycardias (fast rhythms) that begin with impulses generated above the ventricles, or for a specific dysrhythmia marked by a very fast rate, P waves that are difficult or impossible to distinguish, and narrow QRS complexes; also called narrow complex tachycardia

a common dysrhythmia that occurs when multiple irritable sites fire in the atria; considered controlled if the ventricular rate is under 100 BPM and uncontrolled if the ventricular rate is above 100 BPM

contractions of the ventricles in an atrial fibrillation rhythm at a rate of 100 BPM or greater

an atrial rhythm that occurs when an irritable site in the atria fires at a very rapid rate

short for flutter waves; waves displayed on the EKG tracing of a patient with atrial flutter representing the distortion of the P wave as the AV node blocks impulses that exceed 180 per minute; also called sawtooth or picket fence waves

the rate at which the atria contract (in normal rhythms, it is the same as the ventricular rate)

the rate at which the ventricles are contracting; in normal rhythm it is the same as the atrial rate

actions taken to stimulate the vagal nerve and slow the heart rate; may be recommended by a doctor to stop certain dysrhythmias

a rhythm that comes and goes

a rhythm that is always present

moving backward; in cardiology, an impulse that travels backward compared to the usual cardiac conduction path

a cardiac rhythm in which an early impulse is generated by an irritable area of the AV junction; characterized by an abnormal P wave

a cardiac rhythm in which the AV junction area generates an impulse because the SA node is either slow to generate an impulse or does not generate one at all; as in premature junctional complexes, the P wave is abnormal, but these beats are late while PJCs are early

a cardiac rhythm created by a series of junctional escape beats; rate is usually 40–60 BPM

a cardiac rhythm with a rate of 60–100 BPM; this rhythm has a higher rate than what is usually associated with rates generated by junctional tissue and the increased rate represents the body’s attempt to compensate for the lack of atrial contractions

a common term used to describe the force of atrial contractions

a junctional cardiac rhythm with a rate above 100 BPM

premature beat originating in the ventricles

in EKG interpretation, a word used to describe a wave or complex with an abnormal appearance

a word used to describe premature ventricular complexes that occur every other beat

a word used to describe premature ventricular complexes that occur every third beat

in electrocardiography, originating from a single irritable site in the heart’s conduction system, as in unifocal premature ventricular contractions

in electrocardiography, originating from multiple irritable sites in the heart’s conduction system, as in multifocal premature ventricular contractions

a type of escape beat that occurs when the SA node and other potential pacemakers above the bundle branches fail to initiate an impulse

a potentially lethal ventricular rhythm consisting of three or more ventricular escape beats in a row, with a rate of 20–40 BPM; also known as ventricular escape rhythm. Related to agonal rhythm (see separate entry)

a variation of idioventricular rhythm with a rate of 20 BPM or less. Requires immediate intervention to prevent death

a faster ventricular rhythm consisting of three or more ventricular escape beats, with a rate of 40–100 BPM

a ventricular rhythm consisting of three or more premature ventricular complexes in a row; can be very dangerous if it lasts for more than a minute

in EKG interpretation, a word used to describe identical EKG features (e.g., premature ventricular complexes that look the same each time they occur)

in EKG interpretation, a word used to describe EKG features that correspond to the same thing but have differing appearances (e.g., premature ventricular complexes that look different each time they occur); also called multifocal

a variation of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in which the QRS complex seems to “twist” from one side of the isoelectric line to the other

a slowing down of the electrical impulse within the ventricles, either in the left or right bundle branches, which causes the ventricles to depolarize one after another, rather than at the same time

in reference to the cardiac conduction system, an adjective used to describe a path of electrical impulses that differs from the normal path

a ventricular rhythm in which multiple sites in the ventricles are firing at a very fast rate. There is no organization to the impulses and therefore no organized contraction of the heart muscle; considered a lethal dysrhythmia and requires immediate intervention with a defibrillator; also called VF or V-fib

a situation in which the QRS complex of a premature ventricular complex falls on the T wave of the previous beat; may lead to ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation

a rhythm in which there are no contractions and no cardiac activity; also sometimes called flatline

a situation in which a patient shows organized electrical activity but does not have a pulse; considered a lethal rhythm and requires prompt CPR and notification of the doctor

delivery of a shock to a patient’s heart with the goal of stopping a dangerous cardiac rhythm and restoring a healthy rhythm

a device attached to a patient to analyze heart rhythm and deliver a shock, if needed, to restore a normal heart rhythm

a heartbeat in which the electrical impulse that begins in the SA node continues through to the cardiac conduction system to the ventricles

a heartbeat in which the electrical impulse that begins in the SA node is prevented from continuing through to the cardiac conduction system to the ventricles

a heart block rhythm marked by a PR interval greater than 0.20 seconds

a heart block rhythm in which the PR intervals of conducted beats get longer and longer until a beat is totally blocked, and then the pattern resumes; also called Wenckebach

a heart block rhythm in which there is usually a fixed number of blocked P waves for every conducted beat; the relationship between P waves and QRS complexes is expressed as a ratio (e.g., 2:1, 3:1)

a potentially lethal heart block rhythm in which all impulses from the SA node are blocked; there is no relationship between the activity of the atria and the activity of the ventricles and cardiac output is severely compromised

in the cardiac conduction system, a natural pacemaker below the SA node that takes over generating electrical impulses when the SA node fails to generate them or when impulses from the SA node are blocked

an artificial pacemaker that stimulates one area of the heart, either the atria or the ventricles

an artificial pacemaker that stimulates both the atria and the ventricles

an artificial pacemaker that delivers stimulation consistently

a situation in which an artificial pacemaker does not appropriately sense the heart’s electrical activity and does not create electrical stimulation when it should; also called failure to pace or failure to fire

a situation in which the electrical stimulation generated by an artificial pacemaker does not result in contraction of the heart muscle

an abnormal EKG feature in which the ST segment is at least one millimeter (one small block) below the isoelectric line; can be associated with ischemia

a situation in which the T wave deflects downward from the isoelectric line rather than upward; can be associated with ischemia, especially when paired with ST segment depression

in electrocardiography, two or more leads that record activity in the same area of the heart

a type of heart attack marked on an EKG tracing by an ST segment elevated at least one millimeter (one small block) above the isoelectric line

a procedure that involves inserting a tube into a blood vessel and into the heart for testing or treatment of heart conditions

a heart attack that does not show elevation of the ST segment on an EKG tracing