Right bundle branch block

[Gery-howe]

    
      Re: Right bundle branch block
    


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Posted by CCF  MD-EB on August 22, 1997 at 13:15:28:

In Reply to: Right bundle branch block posted by Gerry howe on August 19, 1997 at 23:16:42:

: I suffered a mild heart attack on an airplane last week.
  Fortunately a physician on the plane was able to assist me.
  The ECG at the hospital indicated I had a right bundle branch block.
  Checking with my family doctor this also appeared in an ECG taken
  12 months earlier.
  What is a RBBB and would it contribute to my attack?  
The  heart  is  composed  of  two  systems: the  circulatory system  and  the  conduction system or  in  
layman’s  terms  "plumbing  and  electricity." The  circulatory  system is  composed  of  the  coronary  
arteries  which  supply  blood  flow  to  the  heart  muscle  itself.  The  conduction  system  is  composed  of  
three  fascicles- the  left  bundle which  has  two  divisions  and  the  right  bundle which  has  one  
division.  A  person  can  have  a  problem  with  the  conduction   system and  no  problem  with  the  
circulatory  system  and  vice  versa. A  right  bundle  branch  block  implies  that  one  of  three  fascicles  
has  slower  conduction  and  this  produces  a  characteristic  pattern  on  the  electrocardiogram. In
patients  who  are  suffering  heart  attacks  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  conduction  disturbances  during  
the  event. Since  the  right  bundle  branch  block  was  present  before  this  recent  event  it  is  unlikely
this  contributed  to  your  "heart  attack."