ABSTRACT
Epidemiology Classification Clinical presentation AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia AV re-entrant tachycardia Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome Sinus nodal re-entrant tachycardia Inappropriate sinus tachycardia Atrial tachycardia Multi-focal atrial tachycardia Junctional tachycardia Nonparoxysmal junctional tachycardia Differentiation between VT and SVT with bundle branch block Management of PSVT Management of tachycardia associated with WPW syndrome
Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) can be defined as any tachycardia requiring the atrium or the atrioventricular (AV) node, either in whole or in part, for its perpetuation. SVT is a very common group of arrhythmias (90%) seen in clinical practice.1 The QRS complex duration is typically narrow (120 ms), reflecting conduction over the AV node and His-Purkinje system, but sometimes can have a wide QRS complex due to pre-existent or rate-dependent bundle branch blocks or other aberrant interventricular conduction disturbances. Irregular SVT includes atrial fibrillation, which is the most common sustained arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. This chapter briefly discusses the ECG diagnosis, clinical presentation, and management excluding atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation (see Chapter 4, sections B & C).
