Tachydysrhythmias are defined as any abnormal cardiac rhythm with a rate greater than 100 beats per minute. The tachydysrhythmias include a large number of diagnoses including atrial (atrial fibrillation/flutter, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), multifocal atrial tachycardia (MFAT)) and ventricular dysrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF) and Torsades de Pointes). These disorders are common and patients can present in extremis making it critical for emergency providers to be able to rapidly distinguish between tachydysrhythmias and initiate management.

This post will be the first in a series. Here, we set out to create simple yet comprehensive algorithms for identification and management of tachydysrhythmias. In future posts, we will take each diagnosis individually and delve into management.

Thanks to Salim Rezaie and Haney Mallemat for peer review on this post.

Simplified Diagnostic Algorithm

Simplified Tachydysrhythmias: Diagnostic Algorithm

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Diagnostic Algorithm (PDF)

Simplified Therapeutic Algorithm

Simplified Tachydysrhythmias: Therapeutic Algorithm

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Therapeutic Algorithm (PDF)