A recent ECG Puzzler article (“Nonsustained Ventricular Tachycardia in the Elderly,” September 2006: 519–520) contained several discrepencies with the current literature. They are as follows: (1) tachycardia was defined as a rate greater than 90/min, with normal defined as 60 to 90/min; (2) short PR interval was identified as less than 0.08 seconds; (3) wide QRS was identified as greater than 0.12 seconds; (4) nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) was defined as 3 or more complexes at a rate greater than 120/min; and (5) I was simply unsure what point was being made about QRS complex direction.

I have been teaching this content for 25 years and would define the above measurements as follows: (1) tachycardia is greater than 100/min; (2) normal PR interval is equal to or less than 0.11 seconds; (3) wide QRS complex duration is equal to or greater than 0.12 seconds; (4) NSVT rate is 3 or...

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