Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 15, 2015

It makes pulmonary embolism (PE) very likely. The small LV implies very low LV filling pressures, which implies low pulmonary venous pressure. Although most cardiac arrest from MI is due to ventricular fibrillation, some is due to high grade AV block, and so this could indeed be due to large acute STEMI. Summary: 1.

STEMI 40

STEMI Embolism Pulmonary Ultrasound 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 8, 2024

Smith interpretation: This is highly likely to be due to extreme right heart strain and is nearly diagnostic of pulmonary embolism. She was diagnosed with a Non-STEMI and kept overnight for a next day angiogram. Medics recorded the above ECG and called a STEMI alert. It is of course pulmonary embolism.

Chest Pain 71

Chest Pain Pulmonary Embolism STEMI 71

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

This certainly looks like an anterior STEMI (proximal LAD occlusion), with STE and hyperacute T-waves (HATW) in V2-V6 and I and aVL. How do you explain the anterior STEMI(+)OMI immediately after ROSC evolving into posterior OMI 30 minutes later? This caused a type 2 anterior STEMI.

Cardiac Arrest 110

Cardiac Arrest STEMI Ischemia SCAD 110

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2022

The morphology of V2-V4 is very specific in my experience for acute right heart strain (which has many potential etiologies, but none more common and important in EM than acute pulmonary embolism). CT angiogram showed extensive saddle pulmonary embolism. He had multiple cardiac arrests with ROSC regained each time.

Cardiac Arrest 52

Cardiac Arrest Chest Pain Embolism Pulmonary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 26, 2017

This meets "STEMI criteria" However, there is very high voltage, with a very deep S-wave in V2 and tall R-wave in V4. The morphology is not right for STEMI. My interpretation: LVH with secondary ST-T abnormalities, exaggerated by stress, not a STEMI. This is very good evidence that the ST elevation is not due to STEMI.

Chest Pain 52

Chest Pain STEMI Ultrasound Pulmonary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 11, 2011

Is this an anterior STEMI with LBBB? Explanation : The patient had a worrisome history: 59 yo with significant substernal chest pressure, so his pretest probability of MI (and even of STEMI) is reasonably high. Additionally, appropriate discordance is common in NonSTEMI, but very unusual in coronary occlusion (STEMI).

Chest Pain 52

Chest Pain Ischemia STEMI Tachycardia 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 14, 2016

The "criteria" for posterior STEMI are 0.5 Is it STEMI or NonSTEMI? The patient had been on a long drive, suggesting possible pulmonary embolism (this was unlikely given absence of tachyardia, hypoxia, or any other feature of PE), so we sent a d dimer. Patients with ACS and acute pulmonary edema 3.

Chest Pain 52

Chest Pain STEMI Aortic Pulmonary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 20, 2013

Without seeing the patient, my interpretation of the first ECG was: likely normal variant ST-elevation (early repolarization), with a small possibility of pericarditis, and almost no possibility of acute coronary occlusion (STEMI). and therefore highly unlikely to be STEMI. Does subsegmental pulmonary embolism matter?

Pericarditis 52

Pericarditis Chest Pain Pulmonary Embolism 52

ECG Cases

APRIL 2, 2024

In this ECG Cases blog, Jesse McLaren and Rajiv Thavanathan explore how ECG and POCUS complement each other for patients presenting to the emergency department with shortness of breath or chest pain. They explain complementary diagnostic insights into pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade, occlusion MI and RV strain.

Chest Pain 131

Chest Pain Blog Embolism Pulmonary 131

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 10, 2023

No signs for aortic dissection or pulmonary embolus. --"Results were discussed with the ordering physician. If there are T-wave inversions and elevated trops in the context of persistent pain, think of other pathologies such as pulmonary embolism. Transient STEMI is at high risk of re-occlusion. CAD-RADS category 1. --No

Coronary Angiogram 52

Coronary Angiogram Chest Pain Stenosis STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 9, 2023

50% of LAD STEMIs do not have reciprocal findings in inferior leads, and many LAD OMIs instead have STE and/or HATWs in inferior leads instead. The ECG easily meets STEMI criteria in all leads V2-V6, as well. CT angiogram chest: no aortic dissection or pulmonary embolism. 24 yo woman with chest pain: Is this STEMI?

Chest Pain 52

Chest Pain Aneurysm STEMI Thrombosis 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 19, 2020

This is a troponin I level that is almost exclusively seen in STEMI. So this is either a case of MINOCA, or a case of Type II STEMI. If the arrest had another etiology (such as old scar), and the ST elevation is due to severe shock, then it is a type II STEMI. I believe the latter (type II STEMI) is most likely.

Defibrillator 52

Defibrillator Circulation Plaque Cardiac Arrest 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

and the patient was converted to veno-venous (V-V) ECMO due to persistent pulmonary insufficiency. In a series of 18 patients with COVID and ST elevation, 8 were diagnosed with STEMI, 6 of whom had an angiogram and it showed obstructive coronary disease. 12 All STEMI patients had very high cTn typical of STEMI (cTnT > 1.0

Cardiac Arrest 52

Cardiac Arrest COVID-19 Myocardial Infarction Cardiogenic Shock 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 12, 2023

ECG read as: "Shows T wave inversions in the inferior leads and less than 1mm STE in V2, without STEMI criteria." CT pulmonary angiogram was negative for pulmonary embolism. All very very subtle. So the patient was placed back in the waiting room like many others. Aspirin was given. Chest x-ray was read as normal.

Chest Pain 52

Chest Pain STEMI Blog Stenosis 52

ECG Cases

APRIL 14, 2020

In this ECG Cases blog we look at 6 patients who presented with cardiorespiratory symptoms, possibly from COVID and illustrate the dangers of anchoring, being hypervigilant for cardiovascular complications, and why testing for COVID in patients being admitted for ACS is important.

COVID-19 52

COVID-19 Blog Embolism Pulmonary 52

ECG Cases

MARCH 29, 2022

In this ECG Cases blog we review 10 cases of possible artifact, lead reversal and lead misplacement. Can you spot the abnormalities and avoid the misdiagnosis? The post ECG Cases 29 Misdiagnosis from Lead Misplacement, Artifact and Lead Reversal appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

Blog 52

Blog Embolism Pulmonary STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Patients with pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection who have normal variant ST elevation are at high risk of being diagnosed with pericarditis when what they have is far more serious!! normal variant, not pericarditis) A Young Man with Sharp Chest pain (normal variant, not pericarditis) 24 yo woman with chest pain: Is this STEMI?

Pericarditis 52

Pericarditis Chest Pain Aortic Blog 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 17, 2024

The limb leads have been removed because there was no ST elevation in those leads, the QRS complexes have been obscured because this is irrelevant to STEMI criteria, and red lines have been added to measure ST segment elevation. But STEMI criteria ignore all this and look at ST segments in isolation.

Chest Pain 118

Chest Pain STEMI Myocardial Infarction Blog 118

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 3, 2024

His initial high sensitivity troponin I returned at 1300 ng/L and given that his cardiac workup was otherwise unremarkable, a CT was obtained to evaluate for pulmonary embolism and aortic aneurysm or dissection but this too was unrevealing. Also: electrical instability, pulmonary edema, or hypotension.

Catheterization Laboratory 111

Catheterization Laboratory STEMI Blog Ischemia 111

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 27, 2024

The cath lab was deactivated by cardiologist on arrival at ED because it was "not a STEMI". No pulmonary embolism is identified. Pt received 324 ASA and 2 sprays of nitro with improvement. Cath lab was activated by EMS and transported emergent." Further events: The patient continued to have pain and an NTG drip was started.

STEMI 121

STEMI Chest Pain Myocardial Infarction Aneurysm 121