Asystole

Asystole is pretty much as far down the degenerative track of ECGs that you can get… in fact, asystole is about the equivalent ECG of a rock. I thought is was therefore pertinent to leave it to the last of the ECG examples. Asystole is where all electrical impulses have ceased to propogate within the heart. In generally, very few people will ever have a spontaneous return of circulation once their heart has reached asystole.

Asystole ECG

Heart Rate: Zero
Rhythm: None
Pacemaker Site: None
P waves: absent, but may be present.
QRS Complexes: absent.

Asystole Signs and Symptoms

These people will present in cardiac arrest or decomposition.