torsades de pointes
/tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/
torsades de pointes noun: a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.
Noun
torsades de pointes (uncountable)
- A polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.
Synonyms of torsades de pointes
Forms of torsades de pointes
| alternative form | TdP |
|---|---|
| alternative form | torsade de pointes |
| alternative form | torsade de pointe |
| alternative form | torsades de pointe |
| alternative form | torsades des pointes |
| alternative form | torsade des pointes |
Origin of torsades de pointes
From French torsader (“to twist”), de (“of”), and pointe (“a(n ECG) spike”), from the characteristic/classic appearance of the associated electrocardiogram image of a turning of the QRS complex's orientation around the isoelectric baseline (namely peaks which are at first f.e. pointing up are progressively seen to be diminishing in height and then pointing further and further down for subsequent heartbeats); term coined by the French physician François Dessertenne in 1966.
Questions about torsades de pointes
- What does torsades de pointes mean?
- Torsades de pointes means a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, predisposing to sudden cardiac death and more likely to occur during prolongations of the QT interval.
- What part of speech is torsades de pointes?
- Torsades de pointes is a noun.
- How do you pronounce torsades de pointes?
- Torsades de pointes is pronounced /tɔː(ɹ)ˈsɑːd də ˈpwænt/.
Words near torsades de pointes in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: torsades de pointes (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “torsades de pointes.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/torsades_de_pointes. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.