QRS duration
Also calledQRS width · QRS interval · QRS duration
Definition
The time from the onset to the end of the QRS complex, the duration of ventricular depolarization. The preferred measurement is global, from the earliest onset to the latest offset across simultaneously recorded leads, which is longer than a single-lead measurement. In adults it averages about 95 ms (74 to 114 ms in one series of 725 healthy men), and the 2009 AHA/ACCF/HRS recommendations regard more than 110 ms as abnormal: 110 to 119 ms is an incomplete bundle branch block when a bundle-branch shape is present and otherwise a nonspecific intraventricular conduction delay, and 120 ms or more is wide, seen with complete bundle branch block, nonspecific intraventricular conduction delay, full ventricular pre-excitation and rhythms arising in the ventricles.
Sources
- Surawicz B, Childers R, Deal BJ, Gettes LS. AHA/ACCF/HRS recommendations for the standardization and interpretation of the electrocardiogram: part III: intraventricular conduction disturbances. Circulation. 2009;119(10):e235-e240. doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.191095
- Kligfield P, Gettes LS, Bailey JJ, et al. Recommendations for the standardization and interpretation of the electrocardiogram: part I: the electrocardiogram and its technology. Circulation. 2007;115(10):1306-1324. doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.180200
- Samesima N, God EG, Kruse JCL, et al. Brazilian Society of Cardiology guidelines on the analysis and issuance of electrocardiographic reports - 2022. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2022;119(4):638-680. doi.org/10.36660/abc.20220623
Last reviewed 2 October 2026. Every definition in the EKG Dictionary cites the guideline, consensus statement or original paper it comes from.