Diagnosing the mechanism of supraventricular tachycardia: restoring the luster of a fading art.

n an era focused on voluminous data entry and efficient, definitive” diagnostic tests, establishing a correct arrhythia diagnosis on the basis of the fundamentals of the octor-patient relationship, a good history, and physical xamination has frequently become relegated to an afterhought of historical significance. The battle cry of “Let’s take he patient to the EP lab and figure it (the mechanism of upraventricular tachycardia) out” has frequently replaced the leuth-like pleasure that accompanies making a correct diagosis from a rigorous analysis of the surface electrocardiogram ECG) and a thoughtful history. We all marveled when shown he translated report of Karel Frederik Wenkebach’s descrip-