A 51-year-old man with lung cancer presents with shortness of breath and tachycardia. The arrival ECG shows an S1Q3 pattern and seems to support a familiar diagnosis that would normally…
A 43-year-old woman with sharp left-sided chest pain and minimal cardiac risk factors has an initial ECG that is not diagnostic for STEMI. She looks stable, but one feature on…
Key Points: The ECG’s primary role in ACS is detecting acute coronary occlusion. Acute coronary occlusion myocardial infarction (OMI) is a time-critical diagnosis that requires immediate reperfusion. Time is myocardium….
Key Points: Baseline ECG abnormalities do not protect patients from occlusion MI. They increase miss rates because they distort the ST segment and T waves. The core question is not…
Key Points: Lateral and high-lateral STEMI often present with subtle ST elevation and are commonly missed or labeled as nonspecific ST-T changes. Small-appearing ECG changes may represent true coronary occlusion…
Key Points: Inferior STEMI is the most common STEMI subtype and is frequently complicated by right ventricular and posterior involvement. Inferior occlusion may present with classic ST elevation, subtle ischemic…
Key Points: Anterior STEMI represents large myocardial territory at risk and carries the highest mortality among STEMI subtypes. Early recognition and reperfusion are critical. LAD occlusion may present with classic…
Key Points: High risk of missed diagnosis. Isolated posterior occlusion MI is frequently missed because ST elevation is absent on the standard 12-lead ECG. Instead, posterior infarction most often presents…
Key Points: STAT ECG is the first decision point in ACS. The primary purpose of the initial ECG is to identify patients who meet traditional STEMI criteria and require immediate…
Key Points: Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy is a transient, non-ischemic LV dysfunction—classically apical ballooning with basal hyperkinesis—often after emotional or physical stress. Presentation mimics occlusion MI (chest pain, ECG changes, elevated…
A 30-year-old woman presents with one hour of chest discomfort and palpitations. On arrival she is borderline but not frankly unstable. The 12-lead shows a fast rhythm that appears wide…
Key Points: High-risk STEMI morphology caused by fusion of the terminal QRS, J point, ST segment, and T wave into a single “triangular” deflection. Often massive apparent STE with loss…
A 16-year-old male is referred to the emergency department from a primary care clinic with concern for STEMI. He has no known past medical history. At the clinic, he reported…
Key Points RV involvement accompanies up to ~40% of inferior STEMIs; isolated RV infarction is uncommon but high-impact when missed. Think RV MI when inferior STEMI is present and you…
A 92-year-old man presents to the emergency department with acute chest pain and diaphoresis. The following ECG is obtained:
A 63-year-old man presents to the emergency department with acute chest pain and an episode of syncope. The following ECG is obtained, and the cath lab is activated for suspected…
A 61-year-old male is brought to the ED with acute substernal chest pain and diaphoresis. The following ECG is obtained:
Paramedics are transporting a middle aged male with chest pain and an obvious inferior STEMI. They arrive to the emergency department and the following ECG is obtained on arrival about…
A 56-year-old woman is being brought in by EMS for palpitations. The following EMS ECG is obtained and transmitted:
A 59-year-old man with no significant past medical history presents to the emergency department with chest pain, nausea, and shortness of breath for 1 hour. He appears diaphoretic on arrival…