What are the P waves like in atrial fibrillation?

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Multiple Choice

What are the P waves like in atrial fibrillation?

In atrial fibrillation the atrial activity is chaotic and disorganized, so there is no single, organized atrial depolarization to produce distinct P waves. Instead, the baseline often shows irregular, rapid, fibrillatory waves that do not form recognizable P waves. The rhythm is irregularly irregular because the impulses reaching the ventricles are delivered in an unpredictable pattern. Sawtooth waves point to atrial flutter, not fibrillation. Normal P waves occur with sinus rhythm. So the best description is that P waves are absent in atrial fibrillation, with only irregular baseline activity (fibrillatory waves) visible.

In atrial fibrillation the atrial activity is chaotic and disorganized, so there is no single, organized atrial depolarization to produce distinct P waves. Instead, the baseline often shows irregular, rapid, fibrillatory waves that do not form recognizable P waves. The rhythm is irregularly irregular because the impulses reaching the ventricles are delivered in an unpredictable pattern. Sawtooth waves point to atrial flutter, not fibrillation. Normal P waves occur with sinus rhythm. So the best description is that P waves are absent in atrial fibrillation, with only irregular baseline activity (fibrillatory waves) visible.

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