Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia is most often caused by a reentrant tract between the atrium and ventricle, most commonly in the AV node. It commonly presents with sudden-onset palpitations, lightheadedness, and sweating.
Sudden palpitations
Lightheadedness
Sweating
Connect preexcitation to reentry
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome uses an accessory atrioventricular pathway that bypasses the AV node. Ventricular activation begins early, producing a short PR interval, a widened QRS complex, and a slurred initial QRS upstroke called a delta wave.
In Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a cardiac impulse can travel retrograde to the atria over the accessory pathway and initiate a reentrant tachycardia.
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