The Evaluation and Management of Bradycardia

Bradycardia is a common finding during the clinical evaluation of both healthy patients and those who are ill. Bradycardia may be caused either by intrinsic dysfunction of or damage to the conduction system or by the response of normal tissues to extrinsic factors. In many cases, even profound bradycardia may be asymptomatic and have no immediate or long-term pathologic importance. In this article, we will briefly review the clinical presentation, pathophysiology, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment of patients with bradycardia. Clinical Presentation Cardiac output is the left ventricular forward stroke volume multiplied by the heart rate. Patients with bradycardia may be . . .

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