A 43-year-old member asked:
What are the differences between supraventricular tachycardia and multifocal atrial tachycardia?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

Dr. Calvin Weisbergeranswered
52 years experience
SVT and MAT: Mat is a kind of svt. Usually mat implies significant cardiac or pulmonary pathology. Svt can happen in less abnormal hearts.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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A 45-year-old member asked:
How can you distinguish between supraventricular tachycardia and multifocal atrial tachycardia?
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in

Dr. Warren Fosteranswered
Cardiac Electrophysiology 21 years experience
EKG: Usually, an expert will be able to tell the difference in these two arrhythmias with a 12-lead EKG. Specifically, the shape of the "p-waves" will vary in multifocal atrial tachycardia (MAT), whereas most other SVT's will have only one shape. MAT characteristically occurs in the setting of hypoxia (i.e. low oxygen availability), which is another clue. An invasive EP study is rarely needed.
3.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated May 10, 2016
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