Glossary
Introduction
A
A-3
Atrial Tachycardia (AT)
Normal rhythm at a faster-than-normal rate of 160
BPM
.
Atrial tachycardia occurs when an ectopic, atrial pacemaker (non-SA) fires
repeatedly at a rate between 150 BPM and 250 BPM. AT may cause
cardiac
output to drop significantly (in some cases by as much as 25 %), due to the
inability of the
ventricles
to fill completely during the typically short diastole. This
condition may result from an atrioventricular blockage or digitalis toxicity.
Atrium
(1) One of the two upper chambers of the heart. (2) Any chamber allowing
entrance to another structure or organ.
AV Junction
A junction consisting of the AV node and the
bundle of His
. Conducts the
electrical impulse sent from the
SA node
from the atria into the ventricles.
AV Node
Also called the atrioventricular node. Located in the right
atrium
near the septum.
Conducts the electrical impulse in the heart to the
bundle of His
, which passes it
on to the left- and right-bundle branches.
Baud
A unit of measurement that denotes the number of discrete signal elements, such
as bits, that can be transmitted per second. Bits-persecond (bps) means the
number of binary digits transmitted in one second.
Bigeminy
Two sequences: a PVC followed by a normal beat, or a PVC followed by two
normal beats. Bigeminy—also called a fixed coupling or bigeminal rhythm—is a
type of PVC in which a beat with a normal
QRS complex
alternates with a PVC;
in other words, every other beat is premature. In
trigeminy
, which is similar to
bigeminy, a PVC appears after every two normal QRS complexes.
Blood Pressure
The pressure of the blood within the arteries, primarily maintained by contraction
of the left
ventricle
.
BPM
Beats per minute. SEE pulse.
Bundle-Branch Block
Blockage in the right- or left-bundle branches, with beats exhibiting a wide QRS
and a PR interval of 160 ms. Bundle-branch blockage—also referred to as
intraventricular conduction defect, BBB or IVCD—is a form of
heart block
in
which there is a conduction delay or failure from one of the branches of the
bundle of His
(which start about a centimeter below the bundle of His) to the
Purkinje network
. The blockage may be complete or incomplete, transient,
intermittent, or permanent. In most cases, the electrical impulse travels through
the normal bundle branch to stimulate one
ventricle
and then passes through the
cardiac
septum to stimulate the other, resulting in one ventricle’s depolarizing
later than the other. (Both anatomically and functionally, the septum separates
the heart into its left and right halves.)
Summary of Contents for ProSim 8 Series
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