ECG Interpretation

Results:
Weekly Workout May 11, 2026
Post-Arrest STEMI: Cath Lab or Caution?

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…

ECG STAT May 5, 2026
Post-Cardiac Arrest ECGs Hub

Key Points: The first post-ROSC ECG is essential but imperfect. Obtain it immediately, but interpret it in context. Global ischemia, defibrillation, acidosis, hypothermia, vasopressors, artifact, and severe metabolic derangements can…

ECG STAT May 5, 2026
Post-Arrest STEMI: Cath Lab Decisions

Key Points: Persistent ST elevation after ROSC remains a guideline-supported indication for emergency coronary angiography. The 2025 ACC/AHA/ACEP/NAEMSP/SCAI ACS guideline recommends emergency angiography for patients after cardiac arrest with suspected…

ECG STAT May 5, 2026
Post-Arrest No STEMI: When Cath Can Wait

Key Points: Stable post-arrest patients without ST elevation should not go to reflex immediate cath solely because cardiac arrest occurred. Randomized trials in OHCA patients without ST elevation have not…

ECG STAT May 5, 2026
Pediatric ECG in Cardiac Arrest

Key Points: Pediatric arrest is usually respiratory, hypoxic, or shock-related, not primary coronary occlusion. The ECG still matters because it can reveal reversible metabolic, toxicologic, structural, inflammatory, or inherited electrical…

Weekly Workout May 4, 2026
A Post-Arrest ECG With a Dangerous New Bundle Branch Block

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…

ECG STAT May 1, 2026
ECG Learning Resources & Recommendations

Key Points: ECG STAT is designed for point-of-care review, but ECG mastery requires repeated exposure, active interpretation, feedback, assessment, and clinical correlation. Use the ECG Skills curriculum tracks as your…

ECG STAT May 1, 2026
Recommended Online ECG Resources

Key Points: Online ECG resources are best used for repeated case exposure, quick review, and pattern reinforcement. They should complement, not replace, a structured ECG curriculum. ECG STAT is designed…

ECG STAT April 20, 2026
Normal Cardiac Conduction

Key Points: Normal cardiac conduction begins in the SA node, travels through the atria to the AV node, then enters the His-Purkinje system to activate both ventricles rapidly and synchronously….

Weekly Workout April 20, 2026
UMEM Cases, Part 4: When the Computer Misses the Rhythm and Flutter Fakes a STEMI

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….

ECG STAT April 16, 2026
Wide QRS Complex: DDx

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…

Weekly Workout April 13, 2026
UMEM Cases, Part 3: When the Diagnosis Seems Clear and When It Is Not

A 71-year-old man presents with shortness of breath, and his ECG is initially read as a junctional rhythm. On later review, it is even mistaken for atrial fibrillation. But the…

ECG STAT April 11, 2026
Pediatric ECG Red Flags

Key Points: Any wide QRS (>90 ms) in an infant or small child is abnormal and should trigger evaluation for VT, sodium-channel blockade, or conduction disease. QTc >450 ms in…

ECG STAT April 11, 2026
Pediatric ECG: Basics

Key Points: Pediatric ECGs are not scaled-down adult ECGs. Right axis deviation, large R waves in V1, and T wave inversions in V1 to V3 are expected in healthy children….

ECG STAT April 1, 2026
Heart Rhythm: Basics

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)….

ECG STAT April 1, 2026
Heart Rate: Basics

Key Points: Never accept the machine’s rate blindly. Confirm it yourself as ECG computer interpretations are frequently inaccurate. Verify paper speed and gain first (default 25 mm/s, 10 mm/mV). Name…

ECG STAT April 1, 2026
Normal STAT ECGs

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…

ECG STAT April 1, 2026
Computer Interpreted “Normal” ECGs

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…

Weekly Workout March 30, 2026
UMEM Cases, Part 1: When the ECG Lies and When It Evolves

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…

Weekly Workout March 23, 2026
Subtle ST Abnormalities and a Difficult Cath Lab Decision

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…

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