Official Abbreviations for Arrhythmias
The most authoritative source for standardized arrhythmia abbreviations comes from the 2015 ACC/AHA/HRS guidelines for supraventricular tachycardia and the 2017 AHA/ACC/HRS guidelines for ventricular arrhythmias, which provide comprehensive lists of officially recognized abbreviations used in clinical practice. 1, 2, 3
Supraventricular Arrhythmias
Primary Abbreviations
- AF - Atrial Fibrillation 1
- AT - Atrial Tachycardia 1, 3
- SVT - Supraventricular Tachycardia 1, 3
- PSVT - Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia 1, 3
- AVNRT - Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia 1, 3
- AVRT - Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia 1, 3
- MAT - Multifocal Atrial Tachycardia 1, 3
- WPW - Wolff-Parkinson-White 1, 3
- PJRT - Permanent Form of Junctional Reciprocating Tachycardia 1, 3
- IST - Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia 3
Anatomical/Structural Terms
Ventricular Arrhythmias
Primary Abbreviations
- VT - Ventricular Tachycardia 2, 3
- VF - Ventricular Fibrillation 2
- NSVT - Nonsustained Ventricular Tachycardia 2
- SCA - Sudden Cardiac Arrest 2
- SCD - Sudden Cardiac Death 2, 3
Specific VT Types
The 2017 guidelines 2 distinguish between:
- Sustained VT - VT >30 seconds or requiring termination due to hemodynamic compromise in <30 seconds
- Monomorphic VT - Stable single QRS morphology
- Polymorphic VT - Changing or multiform QRS morphology
- Bidirectional VT - Beat-to-beat alternation in QRS frontal plane axis
General/Diagnostic Terms
- ECG - Electrocardiogram/Electrocardiographic 1, 3
- EP - Electrophysiological 3
- BP - Blood Pressure 3
- bpm - Beats Per Minute 1
Important Clinical Context
These abbreviations are standardized across major cardiology societies (ACC/AHA/HRS/ESC) and should be used consistently in medical documentation 1, 2, 3. The guidelines emphasize that AF is technically a supraventricular arrhythmia but is generally excluded from the umbrella term "SVT" in clinical practice 1.
The term "PSVT" specifically refers to regular, rapid tachycardias with abrupt onset and termination, characteristic of AVNRT or AVRT, and represents a subset of SVT 1. This distinction is clinically important because PSVT implies a reentrant mechanism that may respond to vagal maneuvers or adenosine.
For ventricular arrhythmias, the 2017 guidelines 2 introduced the term "VT/VF storm" (also called electrical storm or arrhythmic storm) to describe ≥3 episodes of sustained VT, VF, or appropriate ICD shocks within 24 hours—a critical clinical entity requiring aggressive management.