A 56-year-old man presents with 1 week of concerning chest pain and shortness of breath. His ECG does not meet conventional STEMI criteria, but it shows subtle ST-segment abnormalities in…
A 34 year old man presents with acute chest pain radiating to the left arm associated with diaphoresis. He has hyperlipidemia and a family history of early coronary disease. The…
Key Points: The Barcelona Criteria are ECG criteria proposed to identify acute myocardial infarction in patients with LBBB. Core problem: LBBB causes expected secondary ST-T changes, so standard STEMI millimeter…
Key Points: Aslanger pattern is an OMI pattern that can identify acute inferior occlusion despite not meeting traditional STEMI criteria. The key finding is ST segment elevation isolated to lead…
Key Points: LBBB does not exclude acute coronary occlusion. LBBBs produce abnormal depolarization and expected secondary ST-T changes, which can mask or mimic ischemia. Acute occlusion MI can still be…
A 72-year-old man is brought to the ED after witnessed cardiac arrest. Bystander CPR was started quickly, EMS found a nonshockable rhythm, epinephrine was given, and ROSC was achieved. Forty…
A 72-year-old man is brought to the ED after a witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Bystander CPR is started quickly, EMS finds a non-shockable rhythm, and ROSC is achieved after one…
Key Points: In a patient with ischemic symptoms, new RBBB + LAFB should raise concern for proximal LAD or septal ischemia until proven otherwise, especially if the patient has ongoing…
An 81-year-old woman presents with lightheadedness and marked bradycardia. Her ECG shows more P waves than QRS complexes, but the mechanism is not immediately clear. The key question is whether…
Key Points: Pattern, not a STEMI equivalent. ST elevation in aVR (≥1 mm), often with ST elevation in V1 and diffuse ST depression (≥1 mm in ≥6 leads), represents high-risk…
Key Points: ST elevation (STE) in aVR with diffuse ST depression most often reflects global subendocardial ischemia, not focal transmural infarction. High-risk coronary disease is one cause, not the only…
A 72-year-old man presents with chest pain and shortness of breath. His ECG shows sinus rhythm with LVH, mild inferior ST elevation, and lateral ST-T abnormalities that some interpret as…
A 60-year-old man presents with chest pain that seems a little better after belching, but his clinician is not reassured. The initial ED ECG shows subtle ST-segment abnormalities, the computer…
Key Points: Wide QRS rhythms distort repolarization. Bundle branch block and ventricular pacing create secondary ST-T changes even without occlusion MI. Appropriate discordance is expected. ST segments and T waves…
Key Points: Pattern: The South African Flag sign is the combination of ST elevation in I, aVL, and V2 with reciprocal ST depression in III. It is a subtle but…
A 60-year-old woman presents with palpitations and an irregular wide-complex tachycardia. The computer calls atrial fibrillation with a left bundle branch block, but a subtle clue in the precordial leads…
Key Points: Ventricular paced rhythms can mask acute coronary occlusion. Pacing alters depolarization and produces expected secondary ST-T abnormalities, so standard STEMI criteria are unreliable. Appropriate discordance is expected in…
Key Points: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) with strain is one of the most common and dangerous STEMI mimics, particularly in the anterior leads, and is a frequent cause of false-positive…
Key Points: LBBB and ventricular-paced rhythms can hide acute coronary occlusion because abnormal depolarization creates expected secondary ST-T changes. Occlusion MI can still be recognized when those ST changes are…
Key Points: Appropriate discordance refers to the expected secondary ST segment and T wave pattern seen with abnormal ventricular depolarization, especially LBBB and ventricular-paced rhythm. The ST segment and T…