Ventricular Tachycardia

Ventricular Tachycardia

Rate	Usually between 100 to 220/bpm, but can be as rapid as 250/bpm
P wave	Obscured if present and are unrelated to the QRS complexes.
QRS	Wide and bizarre morphology
Conduction	As with PVCs
Rhythm	Three or more ventricular beats in a row; may be regular or irregular.

Ventricular tachycardia almost always occurs in diseased hearts.

Some common causes are:

CAD

acute MI

digitalis toxicity

CHF

ventricular aneurysms.

Patients are often symptomatic with this dysrhythmia.

Ventricular tachycardia can quickly deteriorate into ventricular fibrillation.

Electrical countershock is the intervention of choice if the patient is symptomatic and rapidly deteriorating.

Some pharmacological interventions include amiodarone and lidocaine.

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Ventricular tachycardia is characterized by: