Emergencies

Results:
Weekly Workout June 22, 2026
Four ECGs Hiding a High-Risk Coronary Pattern

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…

Weekly Workout June 15, 2026
Three High Risk ECGs and the Right Next Move

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…

ECG STAT June 7, 2026
Barcelona Criteria in Left Bundle Branch Block (LBBB): OMI Pattern

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…

ECG STAT June 7, 2026
Aslanger Pattern: OMI Pattern

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…

ECG STAT June 7, 2026
Occlusion MI in Left Bundle Branch Block (LBBB): STEMI Equivalent Pattern

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…

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…

Weekly Workout April 27, 2026
The Cath Lab Was Activated, But Something Didn’t Fit

A 70-year-old woman with CHF, COPD, intermittent atrial fibrillation, chronic pain medication use, and recent poor intake develops sudden dyspnea at rest and is found somnolent and bradycardic in the…

ECG STAT April 25, 2026
Sinus Node Dysfunction (Sick Sinus Syndrome & Bradycardia-Tachycardia Syndrome)

Key Points: A spectrum, not a single rhythm: Sinus node dysfunction includes inappropriate sinus bradycardia, sinus pauses or arrest, SA exit block, chronotropic incompetence, and alternating atrial tachyarrhythmias with bradycardia….

ECG STAT April 25, 2026
Sinoatrial Exit Block

Key Points: Definition: Sinoatrial, or SA, exit block occurs when the sinus node generates an impulse that fails to conduct into the surrounding atrial tissue. The blocked impulse produces no…

ECG STAT April 25, 2026
Sinus Arrest

Key Points: Definition: Sinus arrest occurs when the sinus node temporarily fails to generate an impulse. This produces an absence of the expected P wave and its associated QRS complex….

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 17, 2026
New RBBB + LAFB (Bifascicular Block) in ACS: OMI Pattern

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…

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
Dysrhythmias in LVAD Patients

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…

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