Question:medium
Read the following ECG. It demonstrates which of the following?
Read the following ECG. It demonstrates which of the following?
Show Hint
No organised QRS, chaotic quivering baseline, pulseless arrest rhythm.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- SVT
- WPW syndrome
- Atrial fibrillation
- Ventricular fibrillation
Show Solution
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Approach the tracing by looking for organised waves. There are none: no clear P waves, no countable QRS complexes, just a continuously undulating, grossly irregular line at a very fast rate.
Step 2: Such total loss of coordinated ventricular depolarisation means the ventricles are merely quivering. Mechanically the heart cannot pump, so the patient is pulseless and in cardiac arrest, requiring immediate defibrillation.
Step 3: The distractors all retain some organisation. Supraventricular tachycardia is fast yet regular with narrow complexes. Wolff-Parkinson-White shows a delta wave and short PR. Atrial fibrillation keeps recognisable QRS complexes despite an irregular ventricular response. The complete absence of QRS structure here rules them out.
Step 4: A disorganised quivering baseline with no discrete complexes is diagnostic of the lethal ventricular rhythm.
\[\boxed{\text{Ventricular fibrillation}}\]
Step 2: Such total loss of coordinated ventricular depolarisation means the ventricles are merely quivering. Mechanically the heart cannot pump, so the patient is pulseless and in cardiac arrest, requiring immediate defibrillation.
Step 3: The distractors all retain some organisation. Supraventricular tachycardia is fast yet regular with narrow complexes. Wolff-Parkinson-White shows a delta wave and short PR. Atrial fibrillation keeps recognisable QRS complexes despite an irregular ventricular response. The complete absence of QRS structure here rules them out.
Step 4: A disorganised quivering baseline with no discrete complexes is diagnostic of the lethal ventricular rhythm.
\[\boxed{\text{Ventricular fibrillation}}\]
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