delta wave(ECG)
Last reviewed 12/2022
The aberrant atrio-ventricular pathway found in patients with the Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome conducts the atrial depolarisation more rapidly to the ventricles than the AVN. However the connection with the ventricles is away from the bundle of His.
Thus an early, but slowly propagating ventricular depolarisation (which results in the delta wave), is initiated, but this is rapidly overtaken by the normally conducted ventricular depolarisation (which results in the subsequent QRS).
The delta wave is seen as an early slur on the normal QRS complex.