Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 25, 2024

The patient was brought to the ED and had this ECG recorded: What do you think? But cardiac arrest is a period of near zero flow in the coronary arteries and causes SEVERE ischemia. Smith's ECG Blog ( See My Comment in the March 1, 2023 post) — DSI does not indicate acute coronary occlusion! sodium bicarbonate.

Defibrillator 105

Defibrillator Coronary Epinephrine ACS 105

EMDocs

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Author: Brit Long, MD (@long_brit) // Reviewed by Alex Koyfman, MD (@EMHighAK) The American Heart Association 2023 Guideline for managing cardiac arrest or life-threatening toxicity due to poisoning was recently released. This post will focus on the key parts of the guideline that affect ED evaluation and management. COR 2a, LOE C-LD.

Naloxone 94

Naloxone OR Overdose BLS 94

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Coronaries were clean. While statistical likelihood of acute OMI is clearly lower in younger adults — nothing is ruled out by age alone ( as per My Comment in the January 9, 2023 and December 5, 2023 posts in Dr. Smith's ECG Blog ). Sam : "Yes, this case was sent to me. It was a man in his 30s with chest pain.

E-9-1-1 105

E-9-1-1 Coronary ALS ED 105

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 13, 2023

An ED ECG, if recorded with pain, should show LAD OMI. My Comment by K EN G RAUER, MD ( 3/13 /2023 ): = Today's case illustrates optimal clinical use of a pre-hospital Wellens' pattern for understanding the evolution of acute OMI. This presumed change in chest pain severity on ED arrival is indication to immediately repeat the ECG.

ED 52

ED ACS Coronary Paramedic 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 11, 2023

The neighbor recorded a systolic blood pressure again above 200 mm Hg and advised her to come to the ED to address her symptoms. For the same reason, you should not delay coronary angiography because pain resolves with morphine. But pain is a critical signal for urgency in the context of acute coronary syndrome. Mukherjee, D.,

E-9-1-1 119

E-9-1-1 ACS Coronary STEMI 119

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

A 56 year old male with a history of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and coronary artery disease presented to the emergency department with sudden onset weakness, fatigue, lethargy, and confusion. For more on use of Opiates with acute ischemic CP — See the January 6, 2023 post in Dr. Smith's ECG Blog ).

Coronary 102

Coronary STEMI Emergency Department OR 102

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

When the patient arrived in the ED, he was still hypotensive in 70s, slowly improving with EMS fluids. Here is the ED ECG (a photo of the paper printout) What do you think? QOH ( Q ueen O f H earts ) and Dr. Smith's former resident immediately diagnosed acute OMI — but providers in the ED thought the ECG findings "looked old".

EMS 100

EMS CPR ED Coronary 100

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 7, 2024

They arrived in the ED 30 minutes later to meet the cardiology team, where an ECG was repeated: Again no STEMI criteria, and there has been improvement in the deWinter and swirl pattern. First trop was 7,000ng/L (normal 25% of ‘Non-STEMI’ patients with delayed angiography have the exact same pathology of acute coronary occlusion.

STEMI 68

STEMI Coronary ALS OR 68

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 19, 2023

The commonest causes of MINOCA include: atherosclerotic causes such as plaque rupture or erosion with spontaneous thrombolysis, and non-atherosclerotic causes such as coronary vasospasm (sometimes called variant angina or Prinzmetal's angina), coronary embolism or thrombosis, possibly microvascular dysfunction. This is not the case.

E-9-1-1 113

E-9-1-1 Coronary ACS BLS 113

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Past medical history includes coronary stenting 17 years prior. Initial ED ECG: What do you think? Cardiology was consulted and the patient underwent coronary angiogram which showed diffuse severe three-vessel disease. Coronary angiogram shows diffuse severe three-vessel disease. How Can We Prove that ECG #1 is VT?

Coronary 132

Coronary OR EMS ED 132

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 1, 2023

He called EMS who brought him to the ED. ED Diagnoses: 1. See the full post here == MY Comment , by K EN G RAUER, MD ( 10/1 /2023 ): == It is often insightful to "look back" — and see from where we have come, which Dr. Meyers skillfully does with today's repost from October 5, 2021. I ordered morphine but he refused.

OR 124

OR STEMI CAD Coronary 124

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 27, 2024

Old ‘NSTEMI’ A history of coronary artery disease and a stent to the same territory further increases pre-test likelihood of acute coronary occlusion, including in-stent thrombosis. So the patient had a transient acute coronary occlusion that spontaneously reperfused but is at risk for reocclusion.

STEMI 96

STEMI Coronary ACS ED 96

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 17, 2024

showed that among patients with either acute coronary syndrome or acute pulmonary embolism and negative T waves in the precordial leads (V1-V4), that inverted T waves in leads III and V1 were present in only 1% of patients with acute coronary syndrome and 88% of patients with pulmonary embolism. In fact, Kosuge et al.

E-9-1-1 134

E-9-1-1 ACS Emergency Department ALS 134

Don't Forget the Bubbles

OCTOBER 7, 2024

However, vertical flow can result in myocardial injury secondary to coronary artery spasm. In: Walls RM, ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 130. Electrical Injury Guideline, Paediatrics for Healthcare Professionals, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2023 May Waldmann, V., Electrical Injuries. Chen P, Bukhman AK.

ACS 80

ACS Life Support OR CPR 80

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 1, 2023

Sent by anonymous, written by Pendell Meyers A man in his late 40s presented to the ED with concern for allergic reaction after accidentally eating a potential allergen, then developing an itchy full body rash and diarrhea. In the ED he received methylprednisolone, diphenhydramine, and epinephrine for possible anaphylaxis.

Allergic Reaction 52

Allergic Reaction E-9-1-1 Epinephrine Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

But do they represent acute coronary occlusion? But coronaries were normal, and serial high sensitivity troponin was undetectable. Based on ECG changes and echo findings, the patient was diagnosed as coronary vasospasm. Formal echo showed EF 55% with mild inferolateral hypokinesis without any prior for comparison.

STEMI 85

STEMI Coronary OR ED 85

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

male presents to the ED at 6:45 AM with left sided chest dull pressure that woke him up from sleep at 3am. He arrived to the ED at around 6:45am, and stated the pain has persisted. Here is his ED ECG at triage: Obvious high lateral OMI that does not quite meet STEMI criteria. The pain radiated to both shoulders.

Coronary 110

Coronary ACS OR EMR 110

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Sent by anonymous, written by Pendell Meyers, reviewed by Smith and Grauer A man in his 40s presented to the ED with HTN, DM, and smoking history for evaluation of acute chest pain. The angiogram showed completely normal coronary arteries. Triage ECG: What do you think? The 2 sets of limb leads shown are from this Feb.

STEMI 113

STEMI ED OR Coronary 113

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

More past history: hypertension, tobacco use, coronary artery disease with two vessel PCI to the right coronary artery and circumflex artery several years prior. That is what Emergency Medicine is all about. == MY Comment , by K EN G RAUER, MD ( 9/3 /2023 ): == I’ve seen a “common theme” with many of the ECGs that Drs.

Defibrillator 126

Defibrillator Coronary STEMI CPR 126

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 29, 2023

STEMI criteria is bad at differentiating between normal variant and acute coronary occlusion or reperfusion, and initial troponin levels don't differentiate between occlusive and non-occlusive MI 3. the presence of J waves from early repolarization doesn’t rule out an acute coronary occlusion 4. Am J Emerg Med 2023 2.

STEMI 72

STEMI Coronary OR ALS 72

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

We who know ischemic ECGs know that really when T-wave inversion is specific for coronary thrombosis that it indicates reperfusion of the artery, not active occlusion. Here is the first ED ECG recorded, now pain free after sublingual Nitro: There is what appears to be a reperfusion T-wave in I and aVL.

E-9-1-1 101

E-9-1-1 Coronary EMS ED 101

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 17, 2023

She had a prior history of "NSTEMI" one month ago, during which she had a coronary angiogram reportedly showing no stenosis in any coronary artery. She was ultimately discharged home after ED workup. A very similar case to the one presented today appears in the January 17, 2023 post of Dr. Smith’s ECG Blog.

Coronary 52

Coronary Emergency Department ED OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 9, 2023

Repeat CT angio chest (not CT coronary, unclear what protocol) showed possible LAD aneurysm and thrombus. Finally, coronary angiography was performed (at least 5 days after presentation) which confirmed LAD aneurysm with large thrombus burden, TIMI 0 flow, thrombectomy performed. A missed OMI like this can be devastating. =

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI Heart Attack OR 52

ACEP Now

MARCH 14, 2024

A 44 year-old male with unknown past medical history came by emergency medical services (EMS) to the emergency department (ED) for an electrical injury and fall from a high voltage electrical pole. 2023 Jul 17. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan– PMID: 28846317. Accessed October 21, 2023. Am J Cardiol.

Operating Room 52

Operating Room ACS Critical Care Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 8, 2023

Edits by Meyers and Smith A man in his 70s with PMH of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, CVA, dual-chamber Medtronic pacemaker, presented to the ED for evaluation of acute chest pain. Code STEMI was activated by the ED physician based on the diagnostic ECG for LAD OMI in ventricular paced rhythm. I cannot be anything else.

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary ED ACS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Both cases had an EMS ECG that was transmitted to the ED physician asking "should we activate the cath lab?" On arrival to the ED, while waiting for cath lab team, he obtained another ECG: You can now see the full voltage of the high-voltage QRS, likely with some degree of LVH. Both were awake and alert with normal vital signs.

OR 110

OR STEMI EMS ED 110

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 18, 2023

6] Among 394 emergency department Code STEMI patients with acute culprit lesion requiring coronary interpretation, 16 (4.1%) presented with an ECG labeled ‘normal’ or ‘otherwise normal’ by computer interpretation. have published a number of warnings about the previous reassuring studies.[4,5] minutes).

STEMI 116

STEMI Emergency Department Coronary OR 116

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 23, 2023

But the paramedic and the ED physician in this case did not subscribe to this idea. I have here 38 cases of "Computer Normal" ECGs which were critically abnormal and the vast majority are missed acute coronary occlusions (Missed Acute OMI) and most were recognized by the physician. So this study is worthless and must be ignored.

STEMI 82

STEMI Coronary Paramedic OR 82

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 27, 2023

On arrival to the ED, the patient was diaphoretic, tachycardic. I did not think it was due to ACS, but we ordered an ED ECG immediately: What do you think? I was not worried for a coronary etiology. He had a prehospital ECG that was worrisome to the medics, so they called me to see him at the door. and had dilated pupils.

Coronary 52

Coronary ACS Naloxone Plasma 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 1, 2024

His medical history includes hypertension, a decade-long battle with diabetes, ischemic heart disease, a coronary bypass graft surgery ten years ago, a diagnosis of congestive heart failure for the last five years, and a prior ICD implantation five years ago.

Coronary 91

Coronary EMR STEMI Emergency Department 91

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 25, 2023

But the stuttering pain and sudden onset suggest acute coronary occlusion (Occlusion MI, or OMI). Cath lab activation by the ED and I agree with coronary angiography emergently." Result: no angiographically significant obstructive coronary artery disease. Smith and Meyers to diagnose both obvious (STEMI) and subtle OMI.

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI ALS OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

In the context of remote rural communities, this can help emergency physicians advocate for their patients, and reduce reperfusion delays by days for STEMI(-)OMI == MY Comment , by K EN G RAUER, MD ( 9/8 /2023 ): == Today’s case is distinguished by its occurrence in a remote rural community ( where the nearest cath lab is a plane ride away ).

OR 124

OR STEMI Coronary Emergency Department 124

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

There was a weak correlation between history of ischemic heart disease (r = 0.16, p = 0.001), percutaneous coronary intervention (r = 0.16, p = 0.001), left anterior descending artery (r = 0.12, p = 0.012) as the culprit vessel and a weak negative correlation between age (r = -0.14, p = 0.039) and chest pain. It is good to have terrible pain!

STEMI 102

STEMI Coronary Emergency Medical Services OR 102

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 12, 2023

Turns out that it was a 50-something patient with no previous cardiac history who had called 911 for chest pain and had presented 75 minutes earlier by ambulance to triage (as the entire ED was overloaded). All triage ECGs are immediately shown to triage ED faculty. ST depression does not localize. To Emphasize: ECG #1 is not "normal".

ED 67

ED Coronary Ambulance OR 67

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

A man in his 70s with past medical history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, CAD s/p left circumflex stent 2 years prior presented to the ED with worsening intermittent exertional chest pain relieved by rest. The De Winter ECG pattern: morphology and accuracy for diagnosing acute coronary occlusion: systematic review. 2009;95:1701–1706.

ACS 85

ACS Coronary ALS CAD 85

EMDocs

OCTOBER 21, 2023

A 68-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease with a drug eluting stent placed 2 months ago presents with dizziness and vomiting that began 3 hours ago. Median time from ED arrival to diagnosis was 8 hours 24 min in one study, with only 19% being diagnosed within the 4.5-hour

EMS 74

EMS ALS OR ACS 74

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 19, 2023

In fact, when inferior OMI does manifest in V5,6, there is still always STD in aVL ( in our study , this was true in 33/33 cases; this is because aVL is high lateral and V5,6 are more inferior) = My Comment by K EN G RAUER, MD ( 3/19 /2023 ): = Interesting case presented above by Dr. Smith — that emphasizes important points about the OMI Paradigm.

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary CAD OR 52