Wide complex tachycardia overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Wide complex tachycardia is defined as a cardiac rhythm of more than 100 beats per minute with a QRS duration of 120 milliseconds or more. It is critical to differentiate whether the wide complex tachycardia is of ventricular origin and is ventricular tachycardia, or if it is of supraventricular origin with aberrant conduction. Differentiating between these two cause of the wide complex tachycardia is critical because the treatment options are quite different for VT versus SVT with abberancy. Wide complex tachycardia will be due to VT in 80% of cases and will be due to VT in 98% of cases if there's a history of either acute MI or structural heart disease. Only 7% of patients with SVT will have had a prior myocardial infarction (MI).