Tachyarrhythmias

For many centuries, clinicians have recognized the presence of irregular heart rhythms while palpating a patient’s pulse. Arrhythmias, namely, tachyarrhythmias, can be life-threatening and require immediate diagnosis and triage. Therefore, neonatal APRNs must remain familiar with normal cardiac conduction, understand the pathogenesis of abnormal conduction, and be adept at prescribing proper drugs to treat the affected neonate. This chapter provides readers with a succinct overview of both the etiology of typical tachyarrhythmias and normal cardiac conduction. Before evaluating popular pharmacologic treatment approaches, it presents a historical review of important and seminal research of pharmacologic therapy used to treat tachyarrhythmias. The chapter delivers the content in a way that makes it easier to learn new information and use it in a therapeutic context. It offers first- and second-line pharmacologic approaches for long-term therapy and compiles information from notable antiarrhythmic drug studies.