housewife

[mary07]

what is underlying rhythm in First Degree Block EKG?

[HockeyShark]

I have a first degree AV block. More of an annoyance and unnerving than dangerous.

[Jerry_NJ]

Interesting that something that is mostly (always?) benign has such a scary name: heart block.  As my main symptom problem is a too high rate due to AFib, a little heart block might do me some good, and if age is a driving factor, I have that "going for me".

[Wisconsin2007]

I would agree with what's been said here - first, I don't quite understand the question, but second, heart block is diagnosed on an EKG.

[ptadvoc8]

My husband has first degree heart block -- he was first diagnosed over a decade ago. My understanding is that there is a slight pause in the transmission of the electrical signals for the heart beats, which is usually detected on the EKG and often causes no other symptoms. Sometimes patients will experience borderline bradycardia (slow heart rate) as has been the case with my husband. His resting heart rate is often in 45 BPM range. However, since it does not cause him any symptoms and he has no structural heart problems, this has not been a cause for concern. He has also been advised to avoid certain types of medications which can further delay the electrical signals and potentially increase his first degree heart block to become a second or even third degree block, which would make things much more serious.

From what I have read, first degree heart block is not uncommon as people age, although it can occur in younger patients as well and can also be caused by specific physiologic, pharmacologic and anatomical phenomena not directly related to aging. This condition is one that my husband has evaluated every year by a complete exam with his cardio, but other than that he has no problems with it. If you have questions or concerns, by all means let your doctor know so they can work with you to provide the most appropriate care and reassure you as needed.

[ireneo]

Not sure I understand the question. I have a book about EKG's and the various types of rhythms and their causes. Under 1st degree heart block it says:  normal pulse rate, regular rhythm, usually no symptoms, usually no significant effect on cardiac output. There may be an increased interval between S1 and S2 heard if the PR interval is extremely long.  So overall it sounds like a 1st degree heart block would only be found on an EKG strip, not because the patient is feeling terrible.