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Atrial Tachycardias

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Clinical Handbook of Cardiac Electrophysiology

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Abstract

Atrial tachycardia is a focal or macro re-entry supraventricular arrhythmia which does not directly involve the AV node. Overall it accounts for approximately 7 % of all SVT’s [1].

Focal atrial tachycardia occurs as a result of either micro re-entry, increased automaticity or triggered activity while macro re-entry occurs over a region of tissue surrounding a region of conduction block. Focal atrial tachycardia due to increased automaticity can usually be initiated with isoprenaline while decremental atrial pacing tends to initiate and terminate micro and macro re-entry.

Although atrial tachycardia’s may occur anywhere within the right atrium or left atrium there are more common locations and in particular where anisotropic conduction occurs in which there is rapid linear conduction and slowed transverse conduction. The most common locations are the crista terminalis, coronary sinus os, the pulmonary veins and antral regions, the tricuspid and mitral annuli, the right and left atrial appendages and the interatrial septum. The location is to an extent dependent on the patient’s age, history of structural heart disease, prior ablations or surgery and the presence of other arrhythmias.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Benedict M. Glover

  2. Cardiovascular Division, Free University of Brussels UZ Brussel-VUB, Brussels, Belgium

    Pedro Brugada MD, PhD (Chairman)

  3. GVM Group, Cotignola, Italy

    Pedro Brugada MD, PhD (Chairman)

  4. CEO Medisch Centrum Prof. Dr. P. Brugada, Aalst, Belgium

    Pedro Brugada MD, PhD (Chairman)

  5. Clinical Electrophysiology Program, Hospiten Estepona, Marbella, Spain

    Pedro Brugada MD, PhD (Chairman)

Authors
  1. Benedict M. Glover
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  2. Pedro Brugada MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Benedict M. Glover .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Queens University , Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    Benedict M. Glover

  2. Cardiovascular Division, Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Pedro Brugada

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Glover, B.M., Brugada, P. (2016). Atrial Tachycardias. In: Glover, B., Brugada, P. (eds) Clinical Handbook of Cardiac Electrophysiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40818-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40818-7_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40816-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40818-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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