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Question:
What is atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response?
submitted by Che Cast from Philippines on 9/19/2017
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Scott Sherron, MD
Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia where the upper chambers are just quivering with no organized electrical activity and no active contraction. The impulses then pass through the AV node which regulates which are passed down to the ventricles. The average number per minute that "get through" determine the heart rate which is also the ventricular response. Since normal heart rate is 60-100, when the number that are passed through is lower than 60, the ventricular response would be considered slow. If slow enough, a pacemaker may need to be considered but there are several other factors in this decision.
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Updated September 2017
