ABSTRACT
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac rhythm, which has irregular undulations of the baseline electrocardiogram (ECG) of varying amplitude, contour, and spacing known as fibrillation waves, with the atrial rate between 350 and 600 beats per minute. The fibrillatory waves are seen best in leads V1, II, III, and aVF. The fibrillation waves may be large and coarse, or they may be fine with an almost flat ECG baseline. The ventricular rate in AF is irregular unless complete atrioventricular (AV) block or dissociation is present. The contour of the QRS complex in AF is normal unless there is prior bundle branch block, an intraventricular conduction defect, or aberrant ventricular conduction.
