Which finding is typical of junctional tachycardia?

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Multiple Choice

Which finding is typical of junctional tachycardia?

Junctional tachycardia originates from the AV junction, so atrial activation is not driven in the normal antegrade fashion. On the ECG, you see a fast, regular rhythm with a narrow QRS complex, and the P waves are typically not seen before the QRS or appear after it, often inverted due to retrograde atrial activation (sometimes the P waves are hidden within the QRS). This pattern—tachycardia with absent or retrograde/inverted P waves and a narrow QRS—is the hallmark of AV junctional tachycardia. Regular sawtooth waves, by contrast, point to atrial flutter, not AV junctional tachycardia, which is why that finding doesn’t fit junctional tachycardia. In short: a tachycardic rhythm with P waves that are absent or inverted after the QRS (retrograde atrial activity) and a narrow QRS is typical for junctional tachycardia.

Junctional tachycardia originates from the AV junction, so atrial activation is not driven in the normal antegrade fashion. On the ECG, you see a fast, regular rhythm with a narrow QRS complex, and the P waves are typically not seen before the QRS or appear after it, often inverted due to retrograde atrial activation (sometimes the P waves are hidden within the QRS). This pattern—tachycardia with absent or retrograde/inverted P waves and a narrow QRS—is the hallmark of AV junctional tachycardia.

Regular sawtooth waves, by contrast, point to atrial flutter, not AV junctional tachycardia, which is why that finding doesn’t fit junctional tachycardia.

In short: a tachycardic rhythm with P waves that are absent or inverted after the QRS (retrograde atrial activity) and a narrow QRS is typical for junctional tachycardia.

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