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1Formulas and methods
ECG rhythm strip interpretation
Paper (25 mm/s, 10 mm/mV)
1 small box = 0.04 s, 1 large box = 0.20 s, 10 mm = 1 mV
Heart rate, regular rhythm
300 ÷ large boxes = 1500 ÷ small boxes = 60 ÷ RR (s)
Heart rate, irregular rhythm
QRS complexes in 6 s × 10
Normal PR interval
0.12–0.20 s
Normal QRS duration
< 0.12 s
QTc (Bazett)
QT/√RR
QTc (Fridericia)
QT/∛RR
QTc (Framingham)
QT + 154·(1 − RR)
Sinus rates
bradycardia < 60, normal 60–100, tachycardia > 100 /min
Escape rates
junctional 40–60, ventricular 20–40 /min
Fast rhythms
SVT 150–250 /min (narrow), VT > 100 /min (wide)
Method
Rate: for a regular rhythm divide 300 by the large boxes or 1500 by the small boxes between two R waves; for an irregular rhythm count the QRS complexes in 6 seconds and multiply by 10.
Rhythm: compare the R–R intervals. Equal is regular; a repeating pattern is regularly irregular; no pattern at all is irregularly irregular.
P waves: is there an upright P wave in lead II before every QRS, all alike? Look for fibrillatory or sawtooth waves, inverted P waves and P waves without a QRS.
PR interval: from the start of P to the start of the QRS, normally 0.12–0.20 s and constant. Watch whether it lengthens, stays fixed before a dropped beat, or varies at random.
QRS duration: below 0.12 s is narrow; 0.12 s or more is wide. Then name the rhythm, and for the QT use QTc = QT/√RR (Bazett) with times in seconds.
2Practice problems
1.ECG rhythm strip interpretationMedium
This lead II strip shows sinus rhythm with one pause. Measure the pause, the R–R interval across it, in seconds.
lead II, 25 mm/s, 10 mm/mV1 small box = 0.04 s, 1 large box = 0.20 sstrip length 6 s
pause = s
2.ECG rhythm strip interpretationHard
This lead II strip shows a conduction problem between the atria and the ventricles. Which rhythm is it? Click your answer.
lead II, 25 mm/s, 10 mm/mV1 small box = 0.04 s, 1 large box = 0.20 sstrip length 6 s
1first-degree AV block
2second-degree AV block type II
3second-degree AV block type I (Wenckebach)
4third-degree (complete) AV block
3.Human physiologyMedium
What causes the first heart sound (S1)?
AOpening of the aortic valve
BBlood filling the atria
CClosure of the aortic and pulmonary valves
DClosure of the mitral and tricuspid valves
4.Human physiologyHard
In Otto Loewi's classic experiment, fluid from a vagus-stimulated frog heart slowed a second heart. What did this show?
ANerves pass signals to their targets by releasing a chemical
BThe vagus nerve speeds up the heart
CThe heart beats without any nerve supply
DNerve impulses spread through the fluid directly as electricity
3Solutions
1.ECG rhythm strip interpretation
Answer: pause = 1.96 s
Narrow-complex tachycardia and pauses: supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a regular tachycardia at about 150–250/min with narrow QRS complexes; the P waves are usually not visible because they are hidden in the QRS complex or the T wave. Sinus tachycardia in an adult at rest is usually below about 150/min and has a visible P wave before every QRS; atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction often runs at about 150/min and shows sawtooth waves. In sinus arrest the sinus node stops firing for a moment: a pause with no P wave and no QRS whose length is not a whole number of P–P cycles (a pause of exactly two or three cycles points to sinus exit block instead).
Measure
49 small boxes from R to R across the pause
Convert
pause = 49 × 0.04 s = 1.96 s
Compare with P–P
1.96 ÷ 0.80 ≈ 2.4 P–P cycles, not a whole number
Answer
pause = 1.96 s
No P wave appears in the pause, and the pause is not a whole number of P–P cycles: sinus arrest. A pause of exactly two or three cycles would point to sinus exit block.
2.ECG rhythm strip interpretation
Answer: second-degree AV block type I (Wenckebach)
AV blocks: march out the P waves and check which ones are followed by a QRS. First-degree: every P conducted, PR constant and above 0.20 s. Second-degree type I (Mobitz I, Wenckebach): the PR lengthens from beat to beat until one P wave is not conducted, then the cycle starts again (group beating). Second-degree type II (Mobitz II): the PR of the conducted beats stays constant, and P waves are suddenly not conducted; the QRS is often wide. Third-degree (complete) block: P waves and QRS complexes are each regular but independent, the PR varies at random and the atrial rate is faster than the escape rate (junctional 40–60/min with a narrow QRS, ventricular 20–40/min with a wide QRS). A 2:1 block cannot be called type I or type II from one strip.
Five steps
1. Rate: 5 QRS complexes in 6 s, × 10 = 50 per minute.
2. Rhythm: regularly irregular, the QRS complexes come in groups separated by a pause (group beating).
3. P waves: upright and regular (P–P 0.96 s, 63 per minute); one P in every 4 is not followed by a QRS.
4. PR interval: lengthens 0.20 → 0.32 → 0.38 s, then a P wave is not conducted.
5. QRS: 0.08 s, narrow (below 0.12 s).
Interpretation
second-degree AV block type I (Wenckebach)
Answer
second-degree AV block type I (Wenckebach)
3.Human physiology
Answer: D · Closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves
Why this is the answer
S1 ("lub") is caused by closure of the atrioventricular valves at the start of systole. S2 ("dub") is closure of the semilunar valves.
Answer
D · Closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves
4.Human physiology
Answer: A · Nerves pass signals to their targets by releasing a chemical
Why this is the answer
The fluid carried "Vagusstoff", later identified as acetylcholine. This was the first clear evidence for chemical neurotransmission.
Answer
A · Nerves pass signals to their targets by releasing a chemical