The 12 Rhythms of Christmas: Type I AV-Block

This article is the fifth in our latest series, The 12 Rhythms of Christmas, where each day we examine a new rhythm disorder. It’s a continuation of the theme behind last year’s 12 Leads of Christmas. Before we delve into today’s particular rhythm I’d like to discuss a bit of terminology. My first ECG textbook was the 8th edition of Marriott’s “Practical Electrocardiography,” which I chased with a couple more of  Dr. Marriott’s books. As a result, I tend to describe arrhythmias using the same language he used in his texts. We should all be aware that there are four main types of atrio-ventricular block: “First degree” “Second degree type I,” also known as “Mobitz type I,” “Mobitz I,” or (commonly) just “Wenckebach” “Second degree type II,” also known as “Mobitz type II,” “Mobitz II,” or (rarely) just “Hay” “Third degree,” also known as “complete AV-block” or “complete heart block” First and third degree AV-block are pretty straightforward, though I tend to prefer the term “complete AV-block” for the latter in order to avoid confusion over the different “degrees.” The two second degree blocks, however, are as mess[1]. As a result, I find it preferential to refer to them as simply “type I” and “type II,” dropping the bulky eponyms entirely. Ad...
Source: EMS 12-Lead - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: 12 Rhythms of Christmas Vince DiGiulio Source Type: research