Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Apr;6(1):29-32.
doi: 10.15420/aer.2016:35:1.

Mahaim Accessory Pathways

Demosthenes G Katritsis  1 , Hein J Wellens  2 , Mark E Josephson  3
Affiliations

Mahaim Accessory Pathways

Demosthenes G Katritsis et al. Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

The term Mahaim conduction is conventionally used to describe decrementally conducting connections between the right atrium or the AV node and the right ventricle in or close to the right bundle branch. Although such pathways are rare, their unique properties make their diagnosis and treatment cumbersome. In this article we review the published evidence, and discuss the electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics as well as the anatomy and origin of these fibres.

Keywords: Mahaim; accessory; pathway.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. ECG during Sinus Rhythm and Atrial Pacing Demonstrating Characteristics of Mahaim Conduction
Figure 2:
Figure 2:. Induction of Tachycardia by Atrial (left panel) and Ventricular Pacing (right panel)
Figure 3:
Figure 3:. 12-lead ECG of Three Different Patients with Antidromic Tachycardia
Figure 4:
Figure 4:. Change in QRS Morphology from Short to Long V-A Atrioventricular Re-entrant Tachycardia
Figure 5:
Figure 5:. Site of Ablation of Each Atriofascicular Fibre at the Tricuspid Annulus in 48 Different Antidromic Tachycardias
Figure 6:
Figure 6:. Atrial Resetting of Tachycardia and Recording of Mahaim Potential
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mahaim I, Winston MR. Recherches d’anatomie compareé et de pathologie expérimentale sur les connexions hautes du faisceau de His-Tawara. Cardiologia. 1941;5:189–260.
    1. Gillette PC, Garson A, Cooley DA, McNamara DG. Prolonged and decremental antegrade conduction properties in right anterior accessory connections: wide QRS antidromic tachycardia of left bundle branch block pattern without Wolff-Parkinson-White configuration in sinus rhythm. Am Heart J. 1982;103:66–74. - PubMed
    1. Klein GJ, Guiraudon GM, Kerr CR et al. “Nodoventricular” accessory pathway: evidence for a distinct accessory atrioventricular pathway with atrioventricular node-like properties. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1988;11:1035–40. - PubMed
    1. Tchou P, Lehmann MH, Jazayeri M, Akhtar M. Atriofascicular connection or a nodoventricular Mahaim fiber? Electrophysiologic elucidation of the pathway and associated reentrant circuit. Circulation. 1988;77:837–848. - PubMed
    1. Haïssaguerre M, Cauchemez B, Marcus F et al. Characteristics of the ventricular insertion sites of accessory pathways with anterograde decremental conduction properties. Circulation. 1995;91:1077–85. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources