What Does Torsades De Pointes Mean?

Torsades de Pointes is a type of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia characterized on electrocardiogram by oscillatory changes in amplitude of the QRS complexes around the isoelectric line. Torsades de Pointes is associated with QTc prolongation, which is the heart rate adjusted lengthening of the QT interval.

What does torsades de pointes mean in English?

Medical Definition of torsades de pointes

: ventricular tachycardia that is characterized by fluctuation of the QRS complexes around the electrocardiographic baseline, is typically caused by a long QT interval, and may lead to life-threatening ventricular fibrillation.

What happens to the heart during Torsades de Pointes?

In the case of torsades de pointes (TdP), the heart's two lower chambers, called the ventricles, beat faster than and out of sync with the upper chambers, called the atria. An abnormal heart rhythm is called an arrhythmia. When the heart beats much faster than normal, the condition is called tachycardia.