Bundle branch blocks
Right bundle branch block
What is right bundle branch block
Bundle branch block is a disorder that affects the heart’s electrical conduction system and causes a blockage of the regular electrical signals that tell it when and how to contract.
Normally, your heart sends electrical signals from the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart’s natural pacemaker, down to the atrioventricular (AV) node and then on to the bundle of His, which is a collection of muscle fibers specialized for transmitting electrical impulses.
Heart contractions: RBBB vs normal heart
The bundle of His then divides the signal into left and right branches and sends it on to the ventricles, the heart’s lower chambers, where it tells them when to contract.
If you have bundle branch block, the signals from the bundle of His to either your left or right ventricle are delayed or blocked.
In right bundle branch block (RBBB) the right-hand electrical pathway is interrupted. The signal still reaches your right ventricle, but it travels there through your left ventricle and gets there slightly late.
This can cause the contraction of your ventricles to be uncoordinated and it can make your heart’s pumping mechanism less efficient.
There are two types of RBBB, complete and incomplete.
Incomplete RBBB is relatively common and usually doesn’t cause problems, but complete RBBB is more complex. If you have complete RBBB, your doctor will want to evaluate you to make sure you don’t have other underlying heart or circulation problems that might increase your risk of heart failure or a heart attack.
If you want learn more about a normal heartbeat take a look at Your heart: The basics.
What causes right bundle branch block?
Some people with RBBB were born with it, but for most people it develops as a result of some kind of damage to the heart’s conduction system.
To learn more about how your heart’s conduction pathways and how they work, take a look at Your heart’s electrical system.
Electrical signals: RBBB vs normal heart
Chronic pulmonary problems, a heart attack, and various types of cardiomyopathy (heart failure, for example) can all cause RBBB.
However, some people with RBBB have structurally normal hearts with no sign of any damage. It’s not clear what causes the RBBB in cases like this.
Common causes of RBBB include:
- Pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs)
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Heart attack
- Cardiomyopathy (heart muscle weakness or enlargement)
- Congenital conditions
What are the symptoms of right bundle branch block?
Usually, RBBB by itself doesn’t cause any symptoms. You will not even be aware that you have it.
However, RBBB is usually associated with other underlying heart or lung problems, and it may make the symptoms of those disorders worse.
How is right bundle branch block treated?
If you have no symptoms and no other underlying heart or lung disorders, you will not need any treatment for RBBB.
However, if your RBBB is related to other disorders, such as heart failure or pulmonary hypertension, your doctor will want to treat those disorders.
What are the aims of treatment?
Again, you probably won’t need any treatment at all if you have RBBB, although of course your doctor will want to treat any other underlying disorders.
If treatment is needed, the goal is to improve the efficiency of your heart’s pumping mechanism and manage any other heart or lung disorders that may be causing problems.