Dawaa Reference

Clinical reference

Atrioventricular block

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

Atrioventricular Block - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459147/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class KD70.00 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified against1 document
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (3)

  • First-degree and Mobitz type I second-degree block are usually silent, found incidentally on exam or ECG
  • Breathlessness on exertion, easy tiring, dizziness and fainting are the typical symptoms [breathlessness · dizziness · syncope]
  • Cardiac arrest or sudden death from AV block is rare [heart block · sudden cardiac arrest]

Signs — what you find (1)

  • Slow heart rate, irregular pulse, low blood pressure, and prominent A waves in the neck veins [bradycardia · hypotension · irregular pulse]

Tests (10)

  • First-degree block: every P wave is followed by a QRS, but the PR interval runs longer than 200 ms
  • A PR interval beyond 300 ms is called a marked first-degree block
  • Mobitz type I shows progressive PR lengthening before a dropped beat, at a P-wave rate under 100 bpm
  • Mobitz type II drops beats unpredictably while the PR interval stays constant
  • High-grade block means two or more consecutive P waves fail to conduct despite ongoing AV association
  • Complete (third-degree) block shows total dissociation between P waves and QRS complexes
  • A resting 12-lead ECG is essential to grade the block and locate the site of conduction failure
  • Ambulatory ECG monitoring correlates symptoms with the block better than a single ECG, especially for paroxysmal cases
  • Echocardiogram is recommended in every patient to rule out underlying structural heart disease
  • Selected labs, thyroid function, electrolytes, renal profile and digoxin level, are checked when clinically indicated

If not this — what else fits (2)

  • Isorhythmic AV dissociation can look similar to AV block on the ECG
  • A junctional escape rhythm is another mimicker to rule out

SourceStatPearls "Atrioventricular Block" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Ranges from an incidental ECG finding to a cause of dangerous bradycardia. GP identifies it on ECG and refers to cardiology for evaluation and possible pacemaker; atropine is for emergency symptomatic bradycardia only. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

Ranges from an incidental ECG finding to a cause of dangerous bradycardia. GP identifies it on ECG and refers to cardiology for evaluation and possible pacemaker; atropine is for emergency symptomatic bradycardia only.

Cautions
  • Syncope or presyncope, severe bradycardia, complete heart block, Stokes-Adams attacks.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.