Bradycardia

9/20/02

Question: What are the defining parameters for bradycardia, and when should it be cause for concern or further investigation?

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Unique Identifier:10706901

Authors: Mangrum JM. DiMarco JP.

Institution: Department of Medicine, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville 22908, USA.

Title: The evaluation and management of bradycardia. [Review] [46 refs]

Source: New England Journal of Medicine. 342(10):703-9, 2000 Mar 9.

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Unique Identifier:8685750

Authors: Spodick DH.

Institution: Cardiology Division, St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, MA 01604, USA.

Title: Normal sinus heart rate: appropriate rate thresholds for sinus tachycardia and bradycardia. [Review] [9 refs]

Source: Southern Medical Journal. 89(7):666-7, 1996 Jul.

Abstract: Conventional rate limits for sinus rhythm--100/min as the tachycardia threshold and 60/min as the bradycardia threshold--were established by consensus and never formally examined. Because clinical experience indicated that both figures were too high, we investigated this formally in 500 normal individuals. Results were consistent with normal data from the Framingham Study 5,000-subject cohort and the EPICORE Center cohort of more than 18,000 normal persons. Therefore, rounded tachycardia and bradycardia thresholds of 90/min and 50/min for normal sinus rhythm should improve the sensitivity of tachycardia detection and the specificity of bradycardia detection. The appropriate rate range (rounded) for sinus rhythm is 50/min to 90/min. [References: 9]

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