What are the symptoms of an agonal rhythm? Symptoms of an agonal heart rhythm include: Faint pulse or no pulse. Loss or losing of consciousness. What causes an agonal heart rhythm? Severe injury to the heart muscles causes an agonal heart rhythm. They can include: Cardiac tamponade.

An agonal rhythm is a very slow ventricular rhythm often recognized as the terminal rhythm of a dying patient which precedes asystole. It has been described as a variant of idioventricular rhythm, but slower, occasionally < 20 beats per minute and with bizarre wide complexes, and often absent atrial activity [1].

In medicine, an agonal heart rhythm is a variant of asystole. Agonal heart rhythm is usually ventricular in origin. Occasional P waves and QRS complexes can be seen on the electrocardiogram. The complexes tend to be wide and bizarre in morphological appearance. [1]

Agonal rhythm is often the last ordered semblance of organized electrical activity in the heart prior to death. Heart rate is less than 20 bpm, without P waves and a wide, bizarre QRS complex. The rate is often so slow, that on a singular six-second rhythm strip it will be impossible to determine whether the rhythm is regular or irregular.