RBBB vs LBBB

Heart problems are easy to diagnose if the hospital has one of the most basic forms of equipment to determine the problem which is the ECG of the electrocardiogram. With this device, nodes are being attached to the chest plus other electronic wires attached to both hands and near the ankles of both feet. This basic tool can save lives. If it is not available, then one can have a cardiac monitor which is easier to use and provides the real-time condition of the heart problem.

Both tools measure and allow the healthcare practitioners assess the heart waves whether they’re too fast or too slow and whether they’re regular or irregular, whether there are widening or narrowing gaps plus other important characteristics. This is very vital. In this article, we will distinguish between a heart attack that is caused by an RBBB and an LBBB.

“RBBB” is known as “right bundle branch block” while “LBBB” is known as “left bundle branch block.” Bundle branches are parts of the heart that help conduct an electric impulse to the rest of the areas for the electric conduction of the heart. It can be either a left bundle branch or a right bundle branch. That is the easy part.

So let’s say a patient arrives in the E.R. with intense, heavy, crushing chest pain that is radiating to the back and to the jaw. Then the ECG strips reveal that the patient is having an M.I., or myocardial infarction, which is also known as a heart attack. The doctors will then determine the cause of it by just looking at the ECG strip.

In a RBBB, the following conditions must be satisfied: a QRS wave that is more than 0.12 seconds, the S-wave in lead 1 and V6 are slurred, and other criteria that are quite complex to understand.

In LBBB, the following conditions must be met: the QRS wave should be more than 0.12 seconds, there should be broad monomorphic R-waves in 1 and V6 leads with the absence of the Q-wave. There should be a broad, monomorphic S-wave in V1 which can have a small R-wave.

The last difference between both is that a heart attack caused by an RBBB is easier to diagnose compared to a heart attack caused by an LBBB according to medical practitioners.

Summary:

1. “RBBB” is known as “right bundle branch block” while “LBBB” is known as left bundle branch block.
2. In an RBBB, the S-wave is slurred while in an LBBB there are broad R-waves with the absence of Q-waves.
3. Both should have more than 0.12 seconds of QRS waves.
4. The last difference between both is that a heart attack caused by an RBBB is easier to diagnose compared to a heart attack caused by an LBBB according to medical practitioners.

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