Idioventricular rhythm: Difference between revisions
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==Causes== | ==Causes== | ||
===Life Threatening Causes=== | ===Life Threatening Causes=== | ||
* [[Acute Myocardial Infarction]] | |||
===Common Causes=== | ===Common Causes=== | ||
===Causes by Organ System=== | ===Causes by Organ System=== | ||
Revision as of 22:57, 26 August 2013
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:
Synonyms and keywords: IVR
Overview
Normally, the pacemaker of the heart that is responsible for triggering each heart beat (ventricular contraction) is the SA (Sino Atrial) node. However, if the ventricle does not receive triggering signals at a rate high enough, the ventricular myocardium itself becomes the pacemaker (escape rhythm). This is called Idioventricular Rhythm. Ventricular signals are transmitted cell-to-cell between cardiomyocytes and not by the conduction system, creating wide sometimes bizarre QRS complexes(> 0.12 sec). The rate is usually 20-40 bpm. If the rate is >40 bpm, it is called accelerated idioventricular rhythm. The rate of 20-40 is the "intrinsic automaticity" of the ventricular myocardium. It can be regarded as a "backup plan" or "redundancy" built into the body.