What does the QRS complex look like in Brady rhythms?

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Multiple Choice

What does the QRS complex look like in Brady rhythms?

QRS width shows how the ventricles are activated. In bradycardia, the heart rate is slow but ventricular conduction is usually intact, so ventricular depolarization proceeds through the normal His-Purkinje system and the QRS complex remains narrow. A narrow QRS (typically under 120 milliseconds) indicates intact intraventricular conduction, which is expected in most brady rhythms such as sinus bradycardia or AV nodal slow rhythms. If the QRS were wide, that would suggest an abnormal ventricular origin or a conduction delay within the ventricles (like a bundle branch block), which isn’t typical for ordinary bradycardia. An absent QRS would imply no ventricular depolarization rather than a brady rhythm.

QRS width shows how the ventricles are activated. In bradycardia, the heart rate is slow but ventricular conduction is usually intact, so ventricular depolarization proceeds through the normal His-Purkinje system and the QRS complex remains narrow. A narrow QRS (typically under 120 milliseconds) indicates intact intraventricular conduction, which is expected in most brady rhythms such as sinus bradycardia or AV nodal slow rhythms. If the QRS were wide, that would suggest an abnormal ventricular origin or a conduction delay within the ventricles (like a bundle branch block), which isn’t typical for ordinary bradycardia. An absent QRS would imply no ventricular depolarization rather than a brady rhythm.

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