The pathological origins of arrhythmias

The pathology of arrhythmias are common in acute and critical care settings as well as in a number of other care settings. Unfortunately any single arrhythmia may be caused by a number of different mechanisms. Different pathologies give rise to different proarrhythmic or ‘arrhythmogenic’ mechanisms. These mechanisms may involve the presence of ischaemia, myocardial fibrosis, muscle stretch and genetic mutations. An understanding of these mechanisms will help the practitioner recognize situations where arrhythmias may occur, and enable the nurse to take pre-emptive action to retard or inhibit the development of the arrhythmia.