Second-degree atrioventricular block: Mobitz type II

Acute atrioventricular (AV) block occurs frequently in patients with myocardial infarction. Atrioventricular block is also a common manifestation of sclerodegenerative conduction system disease. Occasionally, heart block results from drug toxicity, hyperkalemia, cardiac valvular calcification, myocarditis, or infiltrative cardiomyopathy. Second-degree AV block is a form of "incomplete" heart block, in which some, but not all, atrial beats are blocked before reaching the ventricles. Mobitz type II second-degree block is an old term, which refers to periodic atrioventricular block with constant PR intervals in the conducted beats. The distinction between type II and type I block is descriptive; of greater importance to the clinician is the anatomic site of the block and the prognosis. In Mobitz type II block the site is almost always below the AV node; in Mobitz type I block the site is usually within the AV node. Type II AV block is more likely to progress to complete heart block and Stokes-Adams arrest. In most cases of second-degree heart block, including cases of 2:1 conduction, it is possible to determine the site of the AV block (intranodal or infranodal) using information about the age of the patient, the clinical setting, and the width of the QRS complex on the surface electrocardiogram. Second-degree atrioventricular block must be distinguished from other "causes of pauses." Nonconducted premature atrial contractions and atrial tachycardia with block are common conditions, which may mimic second-degree AV block.