A 58-year-old man is establishing care with you because his insurance changed. His old records have not yet arrived, but he is complaining of palpitations and lightheadedness, so you order the ECG shown in Figure

Which of the following is the most likely problem associated with this pattern?
- congenital heart disease
- severe aortic valve disease
- hypokalemia
- atrial septal defect (ASD)
- VSD
Answer(s): B
Explanation:
The prolonged, negative QRS vector anteriorly (V1-V3) and wide notched R waves in V5 and V6 are characteristic for LBBB. In RBBB, there is an rSR' complex in V1 and QRS pattern in V6. Accelerated junctional rhythm would not have P waves. Partial blocks, such as left anterior fascicular block, generally do not prolong the QRS duration substantially, but are associated with shifts in the frontal plane QRS axis (left axis deviation). With intraventricular conduction delay, the QRS is between 100 and 120 ms. LBBB is a marker of one of four conditions: severe aortic valve disease, ischemic heart disease, long-standing hypertension, and cardiomyopathy. RBBB is seen more commonly than LBBB in patients without structural heart disease, although RBBB also occurs with congenital heart disease and ASD or valvular heart disease. Hyper- but not hypokalemia may cause intraventricular conduction delay. Myocarditis does not usually lead to LBBB.
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