Atrial Rhythms

Wandering Atrial Pacemaker ECG Interpretation

Description

Rhythms are often named according to the origin of the electrical activity in the heart or the structure where the problem is occurring.
Wandering Atrial Pacemaker is aptly named due to the electrical impulses causing the atrial activity are moving or wandering.
These changes in the locus of stimulation affect the morphology of the P waves.

In Wandering Atrial Pacemaker ECG, you must observe at least three different shaped P waves. No other changes in the tracing may be observed. The rhythm may or may not be regular.
The PR interval is often affected, but does not have to be.
The bottom line, is you must observe at least three different shaped P waves.

Analyze this tracing using the five steps of rhythm analysis.

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Authors and Sources

Electrocardiography for Healthcare Professionals, 6th Edition Kathryn Booth and Thomas O'Brien
ISBN10: 1265013470, ISBN13: 9781265013479
McGraw Hill, 2023
Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition
Dale Dublin
Cover Publishing Company
EKG Reference Guide
EKG.Academy
12 Lead EKG for Nurses: Simple Steps to Interpret Rhythms, Arrhythmias, Blocks, Hypertrophy, Infarcts, & Cardiac Drugs
Aaron Reed
Create Space Independent Publishing
Heart Sounds and Murmurs: A Practical Guide with Audio CD-ROM 3rd Edition
Elsevier-Health Sciences Division
Barbara A. Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN
The Virtual Cardiac Patient: A Multimedia Guide to Heart Sounds, Murmurs, EKG Jonathan Keroes, David Lieberman
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkin)
ISBN-10: 0781784425; ISBN-13: 978-0781784429
Project Semilla, UCLA Emergency Medicine, EKG Training Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH
ECG Reference Guide
PracticalClinicalSkills.com