Classification of Human Arrhythmias

Abstract

There are many ways to classify human arrhythmias, each of them having its particular interest in terms of theoretical comprehension, clinical management or therapeutic consequences. Attempts have been made to obtain some consensus for defining and classifying cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disturbances (WHO/ISFC TASK FORCE 1978, 1979). With so many possibilities, any classification may seem to be the best from a particular point of view, without being in fact the correct one. Arrhythmias can be classified according to their electrophysiological mechanism, their point of origin in the myocardium, the presence of a causal disease or its apparent absence, the presence or absence of impaired myocardial function, the very simple clinical aspect of tachycardia or bradycardia, the electrocardiographic pattern, the relationships with the autonomic nervous system and the sensitivity to the various categories of drugs. Our purpose in the present chapter will be to list human arrhythmias according to the classical ECG criteria referring mainly to arrhythmia location, and then to examine the possible advantages of other approaches.