QRS complex
The QRS complex is the electrocardiographic expression of the electrical activation of the ventricular myocardium.
For a wave to be defined as a Q wave it must fulfill the following criteria:
- It must be a negative deflection.
- It must be the first deflection of the QRS complex.
- It must be followed by an R wave.
Thus there can be only one Q wave per QRS complex.
For a wave to be defined as an R wave it must fulfill the following criteria:
- It must be a positive deflection.
- All positive deflections are R waves and only R waves (within the QRS complex).
There can be several R waves per QRS complex.
For a wave to be defined as an S wave it must fulfill the following criteria:
- It must be a negative deflection.
- It must follow an R wave.
There can be several S waves per QRS complex.
For a wave to be defined as a QS wave it must fulfill the following criteria:
- It must be a negative deflection.
- There must be no R wave in the QRS complex.
Therefore it describes a QRS complex with only one deflection and this deflection is negative.