Electrical alternans

Electrical alternans
Electrical alternans, tachycardia, and low voltage in a person with a large pericardial effusion.
SpecialtyCardiology

Electrical alternans is an electrocardiographic phenomenon of alternation of QRS complex amplitude or axis between beats and a possible wandering base-line. It is seen in cardiac tamponade and severe pericardial effusion and is thought to be related to changes in the ventricular electrical axis due to fluid in the pericardium, as the heart essentially wobbles in the fluid filled pericardial sac.[1]

The echocardiogram of the heart demonstrated the characteristic swinging along with alternating voltage on the ECG.[2]

  1. ^ Antonio Bayés de Luna (2011). Clinical Arrhythmology. John Wiley and Sons. p. 351. ISBN 9781444391732.
  2. ^ Jehangir, Waqas; Osman, Mohamed (2015-08-20). "Electrical Alternans with Pericardial Tamponade". New England Journal of Medicine. 373 (8): e10. doi:10.1056/NEJMicm1408805. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 26287870.