Tachycardia classification
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor-In-Chief: M.Umer Tariq [2]
Overview
Tachycardias can be classified in a variety of ways. One form of classification is whether it is a wide-complex tachycardia, or whether it is a narrow-complex tachycardia. Another way of classifying tachycardia is whether the rhythm is regular or whether it is irregular. Tachycardia can also be distinguished by type; whether is is a sinus tachycardia, a ventricular tachycardia, a supraventricular tachycardia, or atrial fibrillation.
Classification
The 12 lead ECG can help distinguish between the various types of tachycardias, generally distinguished by their site of pacemaker origin:
- Sinus tachycardia, which originates from the sinoatrial (SA) node, near the base of the superior vena cava.
- Ventricular tachycardia, any tachycardia which originates in the ventricles.
- Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), which is a tachycardia paced from the atria or the AV node. SVT rhythms include:
It is sometimes useful to classify tachycardias as either narrow complex tachycardias (often referred to as supraventricular tachycardias) or wide complex tachycardias. Narrow and wide refer to the width of the QRS complex on the ECG. Narrow complex tachycardias tend to originate in the atria, while wide complex tachycardias tend to originate in the ventricles. Tachycardias can be further classified as either regular or irregular.