Table 1 Selected differential diagnosis of wide complex tachycardia

Condition

Characteristics

Ventricular tachycardia (VT)

Presence of AV dissociation with more ventricular than atrial events, QRS duration more than 140 ms, fusion beats, capture beats

Supraventricular tachycardia with aberrancy

QRS duration of not more than 140 ms [7]

EKG artifacts

Hemodynamically stable, normal QRS complexes, "precipitating" cause viz. movements

Pre-excitation tachycardia

Presence of "delta wave", short PR interval

Ventricular fibrillation

No apparent rate, fibrillatory waves, absent pulse, unrecordable BP