Which is a typical ECG feature of ventricular tachycardia?

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Multiple Choice

Which is a typical ECG feature of ventricular tachycardia?

Ventricular tachycardia on ECG is identified by a regular, wide-complex tachycardia usually running 100–250 beats per minute, arising from the ventricles. The wide QRS complex happens because the impulse spreads through ventricular muscle rather than the normal conduction system, so the depolarization pattern is abnormal and broad. The rhythm tends to be regular because a single ventricular focus drives the beat. AV dissociation may be present, meaning the atria and ventricles beat independently, which is a strong clue toward a ventricular origin. Capture beats (a normal-looking beat momentarily conducted to the ventricles) and fusion beats (blended beats combining ventricular and atrial activation) can also appear and reinforce the VT diagnosis. These features together differentiate ventricular tachycardia from other tachyarrhythmias. A narrow complex tachycardia points to a supraventricular origin, normal sinus rhythm with frequent PVCs is not a sustained wide-complex tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response is typically irregular rather than a regular wide-complex rhythm.

Ventricular tachycardia on ECG is identified by a regular, wide-complex tachycardia usually running 100–250 beats per minute, arising from the ventricles. The wide QRS complex happens because the impulse spreads through ventricular muscle rather than the normal conduction system, so the depolarization pattern is abnormal and broad. The rhythm tends to be regular because a single ventricular focus drives the beat.

AV dissociation may be present, meaning the atria and ventricles beat independently, which is a strong clue toward a ventricular origin. Capture beats (a normal-looking beat momentarily conducted to the ventricles) and fusion beats (blended beats combining ventricular and atrial activation) can also appear and reinforce the VT diagnosis.

These features together differentiate ventricular tachycardia from other tachyarrhythmias. A narrow complex tachycardia points to a supraventricular origin, normal sinus rhythm with frequent PVCs is not a sustained wide-complex tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response is typically irregular rather than a regular wide-complex rhythm.

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