A branch of the heart doesn't work???

[Nurse-To-Be-Joy]

I have a question and I'm not sure if this is where to post it. I went to a doctor today and he performed an EKG. He noticed an abnormal arrythmia and said that one of the branches of the lower right brnach isn't working; there's soemthing wrong with the electrical current, so another branch has to work a little more to compensate.

He did say that this would not cause any problems, but *may* be the cause of my SOB or slightly fast heart rate.

He had a very thick accent, so I just wanted to understand this as I have never heard of this. And, as a pre-nursing student, I'm curious. Thanks for any help in explaining this to me!

[babynurselsa, RN]

Could he have said you have Right Bundle Branch Block???

[Nurse-To-Be-Joy]

I'm not sure what all he said. I mean, this accent was very, very thick. I did get the "abnormal arrythmia" part and the part about one branch not working, so another one makes up for it.

[1Tulip]

My guess he's talking about Right Bundle Branch Block (RBBB). He should be sending a report to your regular doc. Your regular doc should be able to answer your questions and give you some sort of plan of action. I'm assuming that being short of breath and having palpatations isn't "OK" with you. If it were me, I'd like to know if I can get some symptom relief.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

I don't think you were misunderstanding what he said. Studying the anatomy and physiology of the heart and how it's electrical system works will help you understand what he was saying. The heart generates electrical pulses that travel through the various cells of the heart including structures called the perkinje fibers in the ventricles resulting in the actual muscular beat of the heart. In a nutshell, when the path of the electrical impulses travel by a route different from normal (as in the case of some of the perkinge fibers not passing the impulse on like they should), the heart rate is affected, usually slightly slowed although a bit of an arrhythmia can also be the result. The heart is an amazing organ and there is a lot to it's physiology. A good understanding of it's physiology will help explain what happens when something starts to go wrong with it.

[Nurse-To-Be-Joy]

Thanks for your help. I think I understand it now. I'll have to go read ahead in my A&P textbook to make sure I really do get it. :)

[liljsmom02]

there are 5 methods of electrical transmission in the heart. the SA node, AV node, bundle branch, bundle of his and perkaji fibers. if one doesn't work the next one will compensate causing an arrythmia. these have to do with electrical stimulaton of the heart muscle and not the muscle itself.