Ventricular flutter is an
arrhythmia, more specifically a
tachycardia
Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal ( ...
affecting the
ventricles with a rate over 250-350 beats/min, and one of the most indiscernible. It is characterized on the
ECG
Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...
by a sinusoidal waveform without clear definition of the QRS and T waves. It has been considered as a possible transition stage between
ventricular tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach or VT) is a fast heart rate arising from the lower chambers of the heart. Although a few seconds of VT may not result in permanent problems, longer periods are dangerous; and multiple episodes over a short perio ...
and
fibrillation
Fibrillation is the rapid, irregular, and unsynchronized contraction of muscle fibers. An important occurrence is with regard to the heart.
Cardiology
There are two major classes of cardiac fibrillation: atrial fibrillation and ventricular fib ...
, and is a
critically unstable arrhythmia that can result in
sudden cardiac death
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
.
It can occur in infancy,
youth,
or as an adult.
It can be induced by
programmed electrical stimulation.
References
External links
* http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/409172_3
Cardiac arrhythmia
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