MULTIFOCAL ATRIAL TACHYCARDIA

Course overview

MULTIFOCAL ATRIAL TACHYCARDIA (MAT) IS A SUPRAVENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA RESULTING IN A RAPID, IRREGULAR ATRIAL RHYTHM THAT IS CAUSED BY MULTIPLE ECTOPIC FOCI WITHIN THE ATRIA. THIS ARRHYTHMIA IS CHARACTERIZED BY A HEART RATE OF GREATER THAN 100 BEATS PER MINUTE WITH ORGANIZED ATRIAL ACTIVITY YIELDING THREE OR MORE DIFFERENT NON-SINUS P-WAVE MORPHOLOGIES IN THE SAME LEAD. THERE ARE IRREGULAR INTERVALS BETWEEN P WAVES. THIS CONDITION IS TYPICALLY SEEN IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH A VARIETY OF UNDERLYING CONDITIONS, THE MOST COMMON OF WHICH IS A CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). WHILE THE PATHOGENESIS IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD, THE CONDITION IS GENERALLY ASYMPTOMATIC, AND MOST PATIENTS ARE HEMODYNAMICALLY STABLE. FOR THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS, NO TREATMENT IS REQUIRED BEYOND THE TREATMENT OF UNDERLYING CONDITIONS. HOWEVER, EVALUATION IS IMPORTANT AS THIS ARRHYTHMIA IS A POOR PROGNOSTIC SIGN IN THE SETTING OF ACUTE ILLNESS. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE PRESENTATION, CAUSES, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MULTIFOCAL ATRIAL TACHYCARDIA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF AFFECTED PATIENTS.