Key Points: A QRS duration greater than 120 ms reflects delayed or abnormal ventricular depolarization. A wide QRS may be chronic and benign in context, or it may be the…
A 44-year-old man with severe cardiomyopathy, an LVAD, chronic amiodarone therapy, and an AICD presents with palpitations. His ECG shows a regular wide-complex tachycardia, but the rate is only 135….
Key Points: Junctional tachycardia is an uncommon supraventricular tachycardia arising from the AV junction, usually due to enhanced automaticity rather than reentry. It is usually a regular narrow-complex tachycardia, although…
Key Points: Continuous-flow LVADs can mask cardiovascular collapse. Patients may remain awake during sustained VT or even VF because the pump can provide temporary flow. Treat the rhythm and the…
Key Points: Severe hypothermia causes predictable ECG slowing and conduction delay. Sinus bradycardia, PR/QRS/QT prolongation, and atrial fibrillation with a slow ventricular response are common as core temperature falls. Osborn…
Key Points: Don’t trust the ECG machines automated interpretation. Confirm the rhythm yourself. Start with the ventricles (R–R pattern), then the atria (P waves), then the AV relationship (PR behavior/P:QRS)….
Key Points: Clinical Context: A single normal 12-lead ECG in the emergent setting does not exclude all life-threatening conditions such as early occlusion MI/ACS, PE, tamponade, or aortic catastrophe. Do…
Key Points: Do not trust a computer read of “normal” without your own review. Computer interpretation is especially unreliable for subtle or early ischemia, including hyperacute T waves, minimal ST…
Key Points: Clinical Context: Abnormal ECGs must be interpreted within the patient’s presentation. Not all abnormalities are life-threatening, and high-risk conditions can still appear subtle or even “normal.” Serial Monitoring:…
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…
Key Points: Pacemaker syndrome is a hemodynamic problem caused by loss of proper atrioventricular (AV) synchrony. Most commonly occurs with ventricular pacing that produces retrograde atrial activation, but can also…
Key Points: RAE reflects increased right atrial size or pressure load and is usually a marker of underlying pulmonary or right-sided cardiac disease. The classic ECG clue is a tall,…
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: Life Savers are the can’t-miss ECGs. These patterns may reflect immediately life-threatening ischemic, electrical, mechanical, obstructive, toxicologic, or metabolic emergencies. This hub is built for rapid action. Use…
Key Points: Use a consistent ECG routine. In acute care, a repeatable approach reduces misses and helps you recognize dangerous patterns faster. Prioritize life threats first. Instability, malignant rhythms, occlusion…
Key Points: This hub organizes ECG basics and fundamentals into three complementary “start here” pathways: ECG definitions and measurement, how ECGs work and are generated, and the acute care STAT…
Key Points: LBBB does not exclude acute coronary occlusion. LBBB produces abnormal depolarization and expected secondary ST-T changes, which can mask or mimic ischemia. Acute OMI can still be recognized…
Key Points: Electrical alternans is a beat-to-beat alternation in QRS amplitude, axis, or both. It is classically associated with a large pericardial effusion and may support concern for tamponade, but…
Key Points: Pericardial effusion is the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac. ECG may provide clues, but it is not sensitive enough to exclude effusion. Important ECG clues include…
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…