Remove Cardiac Arrest Remove ICU Remove Tachycardia
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A middle aged man with unwitnessed cardiac arrest

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Written by Pendell Meyers, with edits by Steve Smith Thanks to my attending Nic Thompson who superbly led this resuscitation We received a call that a middle aged male in cardiac arrest was 5 minutes out. There is a regular, wide complex, (mostly) monomorphic tachycardia. He was estimated to be in his 50s, with no known PMHx.

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Could you have prevented this young man's cardiac arrest?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

We received 4 ECGs, including his baseline on file, and three from today, including triage, peri-arrest, and post-ROSC (sorry for the poor quality due to scanning). Prior ECG on file: Sinus tachycardia, imperfect baseline, otherwise unremarkable. Unfortunately, this was not recognized at this time.

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Does this T wave pattern mean anything?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

Edited by Bracey, Meyers, Grauer, and Smith A 50-something-year-old female with a history of an unknown personality disorder and alcohol use disorder arrived via EMS following cardiac arrest with return of spontaneous circulation. T wave alternans is a harbinger of cardiac instability and TdP. (3) No ischemic ST changes.

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A man in his 60s with syncope and ST depression. What does the ECG mean?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

ECG is consistent with severe hypokalemia and/or hypomagnesemia causing prolonged QT (QU) at high risk of Torsades (which is polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in the setting of a long QT interval). The patient was admitted to the ICU for close monitoring and electrolyte repletion and had an uneventful hospital course. Is it STEMI?

Ischemia 120
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Another deadly and confusing ECG. Are you still one of the many people who will be fooled by this ECG, or do you recognize it instantly?

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

After initiating treatment for hyperkalemia, repeat ECG showed resolution of Brugada pattern: The ECG shows sinus tachycardia. He was admitted to the ICU and transferred emergently to a facility where he could undergo emergent dialysis as a part of further evaluation and management. HyperKalemia with Cardiac Arrest.