Understanding the ECG. Part 6: QRS axis

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in British Journal of Cardiac Nursing, copyright © MA Healthcare, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see 10.12968/bjca.2016.11.4.180

In this sixth article of the British Journal of Cardiac Nursing ECG Interpretation series, we hope to
shed some light on these issues, and to describe the QRS axis in terms that readers can understand.
We will present the currently accepted definitions of both normal and abnormal axis, as defined by
internationally agreed practice guidelines. We will also explain how to evaluate axis on the 12-lead
ECG, using simple methods that are appropriate to the clinical setting. Finally, we will examine the
most common cause of axis deviation, the fascicular blocks.