Podcast 546: Complete Heart Block

Author: Jared Scott, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Differentiating symptomatic bradycardia from asymptomatic may be essential in determining workup and treatment
• Airway, breath, circulation always hold true
• Symptoms may include dizziness, syncope, or weakness
• An EKG is essential in the majority of cases
• Complete heart block can be a cause of symptomatic bradycardia and requires immediate attention
• Complete heart block can be caused by drugs (beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers), Lyme disease, infiltrative disease, or degeneration of the conduction system

References:

Kusumoto FM, Schoenfeld MH, Barrett C, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Gold MR, Goldschlager NF, Hamilton RM, Joglar JA, Kim RJ, Lee R, Marine JE, McLeod CJ, Oken KR, Patton KK, Pellegrini CN, Selzman KA, Thompson A, Varosy PD. 2018 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline on the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(7):e51. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Summarized by Will Dewispelaere, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD