Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 10, 2023

A CT Coronary angiogram was ordered. Here are the results: --Minimally obstructive coronary artery disease. --LAD CAD-RADS category 1. --No Although a lesion is not visible anatomically on this CT scan, coronary catheter angiography could be considered based on Cardiology evaluation." A repeat troponin returned at 0.45

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI CAD OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

AUGUST 9, 2019

Post by Smith and Meyers Sam Ghali ( [link] ) just asked me (Smith): "Steve, do left main coronary artery *occlusions* (actual ones with transmural ischemia) have ST Depression or ST Elevation in aVR?" Furthermore, among 35 patients with acute left main coronary artery occlusion, 9 presented with RBBB (mostly with LAFB) on the admission ECG.

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI ACS ALS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 28, 2018

He has a history of known CAD, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. The ED ECG in the context of the prehospital ECGs was indeed diagnostic of acute coronary occlusion. Cath Results: The cath lab was activated and co-culprit lesions were found: 99% circumflex and 95% right coronary artery (RCA). Both were stented.

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI CAD ED 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 24, 2019

The biphasic T wave is consistent with recent reperfusion of an occluded coronary artery supplying the inferior region. Here’s the angiogram of the RCA : No thrombus or plaque rupture in the RCA (or any coronary artery) was found. This MI wasn’t caused by a ruptured plaque of CAD - it was a coronary artery dissection of the RCA.

Coronary 52

Coronary CAD ACS STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

This is for the version housed on Telegram: [link] You can get the full PM Cardio app here if you live in the UK or EU (or say you do upon registration): [link] Case Continued The cath lab was activated and the patient received 180 mg of ticagrelor, and then was transported to the cath lab.

CAD 104

CAD ED OR Coronary 104

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MAY 19, 2020

Angiography showed normal coronaries. MINOCA: Myocardial Infarction in the Absence of Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease). Here is my comment on MINOCA: "Non-obstructive coronary disease" does not necessarily imply "no plaque rupture with thrombus." 2) overlooked obstructive coronary disease (e.g., The K was normal.

Defibrillator 52

Defibrillator CPR Coronary CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 19, 2024

The ED provider ordered a coronary CT scan to assess the patient for CAD. The patient was taken emergently to the cath lab for a pericardiocentesis instead of a coronary angiogram. Three months prior to this presentation, he received a pacemaker for severe bradycardia and syncope due to sinus node dysfunction.

STEMI 60

STEMI Coronary CAD ED 60

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Hospital Course The patient was taken emergently to the cath lab which did not reveal any significant coronary artery disease, but she was noted to have reduced EF consistent with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Just because you don't see hemodynamically significant CAD on angiogram does not mean it is not OMI. It can only be seen by IVUS.

Emergency Department 52

Emergency Department E-9-1-1 Coronary STEMI 52

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 83

ACS Coronary ALS CAD 83

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 14, 2023

Sent by Anonymous, written by Pendell Meyers A man in his 60s with history of CAD and 2 prior stents presented to the ED complaining of acute heavy substernal chest pain that began while eating breakfast about an hour ago, and had been persistent since then, despite EMS administering aspirin and nitroglycerin. Pre-intervention.

CAD 52

CAD ACS STEMI Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 9, 2023

No family history of sudden cardiac death, cardiomyopathy, premature CAD, or other cardiac issues. Repeat CT angio chest (not CT coronary, unclear what protocol) showed possible LAD aneurysm and thrombus. Acute coronary occlusion almost always occurs in patients who are well beyond their teenage years.

Coronary 52

Coronary STEMI Heart Attack OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 22, 2023

The patient proceeded to cath where all coronaries were described as normal with no evidence of any CAD, spasm, or any other abnormality. She has not had a heart catheterization or after this event so the presence or absence of CAD is still unknown.

E-9-1-1 92

E-9-1-1 CAD OR STEMI 92

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 19, 2023

Concerning history, known CAD" Recorded 2 hours after pain onset: What do you think? To realize — Assessment of ECG #1 is complicated by knowing: i ) That today’s patient has a history of documented CAD ; and , ii ) The lack o f a prior tracing for comparison at the time the initial ECG was interpreted.

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary CAD OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 24, 2015

He had a history of CAD with CABG. Ventricular fibrillation is not only caused by acute coronary syndrome. A middle-aged male had a V Fib arrest. He had not complained of any premonitory symptoms (which is very common). Here was his initial ED ECG: There is atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response. He did not have ACS.

Defibrillator 52

Defibrillator ACS CAD STEMI 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 31, 2020

But it does prove that the patient has coronary disease and makes the probability that his chest pain is due to ACS very very high. Instantaneous wave-free ratio is performed using high fidelity pressure wires that are passed distal to the coronary stenosis. Acute T-waves are large, even if not necessarily hyperacute.

ED 52

ED Coronary ACS CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 31, 2018

She had zero CAD risk factors. Next day, t he patient was taken for an angiogram and found to have a reperfused LAD lesion with good flow that appeared to the angiographer as if it was a spontaneous coronary artery dissection. What is Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD)? hours of substernal chest pressure.

Coronary 52

Coronary ACS STEMI OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 18, 2013

I want all to know that, with the right mind preparation, and the use of the early repol/LAD occlusion formula, extremely subtle coronary occlusion can be detected prospectively, with no other information than the ECG. It is not a missed STEMI, but it is a missed coronary occlusion. Wang T, Zhang M, Fu Y, et al.

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary ALS CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2022

As in all ischemia interpretations with OMI findings, the findings can be due to type 1 AMI (example: acute coronary plaque rupture and thrombosis) or type 2 AMI (with or without fixed CAD, with severe regional supply/demand mismatch essentially equaling zero blood flow).

ACS 52

ACS CPR CAD Heart Attack 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JANUARY 1, 2013

A middle aged male with no h/o CAD presented with one week of crescendo exertional angina, and had chest pain at the time of the first ECG: Here is the patient's previous ECG: Here is the patient's presenting ED ECG: There is isolated ST depression in precordial leads, deeper in V2 - V4 than in V5 or V6. There is no ST elevation.

STEMI 52

STEMI ACS Coronary CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 12, 2017

He had a family history of early CAD and occasional drug and tobacco use. However, subtle coronary occlusion may be completely missed by the computer and called "normal." It is not yet available, but this is your way to get on the list. link] Here is the history: A 30 yo man presented complaining of severe chest pain. References : 1.

STEMI 52

STEMI CAD Coronary ALS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

Is this due to coronary occlusion? The medic activated the cath lab but was refused by the interventionalist, who did not believe that this ECG represented acute coronary occlusion. But what we truly care about is coronary occlusion, for which STEMI is just a surrogate that is only about 75% sensitive for occlusion.

E-9-1-1 40

E-9-1-1 STEMI Coronary CAD 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 3, 2018

Submitted and written by Alex Bracey with edits by Pendell Meyers and Steve Smith Case A 50ish year old man with a history of CAD w/ prior LAD MI s/p LAD stenting presented to the ED with chest pain similar to his prior MI, but worse. Despite having acute coronary occlusion by cath, his ECGs never met STEMI criteria.

ACS 52

ACS STEMI Coronary CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2019

They found non-obstructive CAD, with only a 20% stenosis of OM2 and 10% RCA. As we have described multiple times on this blog, false positive "pericarditis" kills by distracting the clinician from actual emergencies including OMI, dissection, PE, and others. A repeat ECG was performed and cardiology was re-consulted: Roughly unchanged.

E-9-1-1 52

E-9-1-1 ACS Coronary CAD 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 2, 2023

Late Gadolinium enhancement: Multifocal scarring of the septum (including RV septum), basal anterior wall and transmural mid inferior region scarring - a non-CAD hyperenhacement pattern. For review of a case of RVOT VT — Please see My Comment at the bottom of the page in the February 14, 2022 post in Dr. Smith's ECG Blog.

ED 96

ED OR ALS CAD 96

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

A middle-aged male with h/o CAD and stents presented with typical chest pressure. Is there likely to be fixed coronary stenosis that led to demand ischemia during pneumonia? --Was Furthermore, among 35 patients with acute left main coronary artery occlusion, 9 presented with RBBB (mostly with LAFB) on the admission ECG.

STEMI 40

STEMI CPR CAD Coronary 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 19, 2016

The diagnostic coronary angiogram identified only minimal coronary artery disease, but there was a severely calcified, ‘immobile’ aortic valve. Author continued : STE in aVR is often due to left main coronary artery obstruction (OR 4.72), and is associated with in-hospital cardiovascular mortality (OR 5.58).

Coronary 40

Coronary ACS ALS STEMI 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

OCTOBER 26, 2020

The patient was transferred immediately for angiogram which revealed no significant CAD, and no intervention was performed. Coronary spasm causing massive current of injury with shark fin ECG. I would not expect ST-E to vanish in four beats with dissolving thrombus (also we know that the coronaries were clean).

Coronary 40

Coronary Defibrillator ACS CAD 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JUNE 20, 2020

A 75 yo with h/o CAD, CABG, and HFrEF presented after a syncopal episode. Discussion Thus, no further ECGs were recorded and there was no angiogram or stress test or CT coronary angiogram. There was no prodrome and no associated symptoms such as SOB or CP. The medics were worried about STEMI, as it meets STEMI criteria.

STEMI 52

STEMI CAD OR Coronary 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

JULY 11, 2019

These findings are very subtle but suspicious for LAD occlusion, as we have seen in many similar (but less difficult) cases on this blog: A man in his sixties with chest pain at midnight with undetectable troponin How long would you like to wait for your Occlusion MI to show a STEMI? He also had non-acute CAD of the RCA (50%) and LCX (50%).

STEMI 52

STEMI ACS CAD ED 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 29, 2015

Case history A middle-aged woman with a history of HTN, but no prior CAD, presented to the ED with chest pain. LVH can mimic an acute anterior coronary occlusion (ACO) on the ECG. Electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy in chest pain patients: Differentiation from acute coronary ischemic events. J Electrocardiol.

STEMI 40

STEMI Coronary ALS CAD 40

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

NOVEMBER 26, 2018

Second , the increased demand created by extreme tachycardia may exceed the ability of the coronary arteries to supply sufficient blood (due to preexisting three vessel or left main disease, with or without ACS). The lower heart rate was maintained, as were the ST segment changes above, over the next 10 minutes in the resuscitation room.

STEMI 52

STEMI ACS CAD OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

In this study of dialysis patients with severe CAD, 77% had an abnormal resting EKG and the most common abnormality was LVH. Another reason may be that the EKG is more difficult to interpret in patients with dialysis due to baseline abnormalities, including LVH. Herzog et al.

CAD 52

CAD OR ED ALS 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 6, 2019

She also had non-acute CAD of the left main (50%) and LCX (75%). The Portable Programmable Microprocessor-Driven Real-Time 12-Lead Electrocardiographic Monitor: A Preliminary Report of a New Device for the Noninvasive Detection of Successful Reperfusion or Silent Coronary Reocclusion. They opened it. Initial troponin T was 0.46

STEMI 52

STEMI ALS ACS ICU 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

APRIL 8, 2016

He had significant history of CAD with CABG x5, and repeat CABG x 2 as well as a subsequent PCI of the graft to the RCA (twice) and of the graft to the Diagonal. Over a 13-month period, serum potassium and magnesium levels were measured in 590 patients admitted to a coronary care unit. Most recent echo showed EF of 60%.

STEMI 52

STEMI Plasma Defibrillator OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

MARCH 24, 2023

Written by Jesse McLaren, with comments from Smith An 85 year old with a history of CAD presented with 3 hours of chest pain that feels like heartburn but that radiates to the left arm. Use STEMI criteria to identify acute coronary occlusion: the ECG was STEMI negative 2. Below is the ECG. What do you think?

STEMI 52

STEMI Coronary CAD OR 52

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Acute coronary syndrome in a pediatric patient? He did have a family history notable for early CAD. hematological disorder like sickle cell or antiphospholipid syndome, family history of CAD or hypercholesterolemia, prior history of vasculopathies such as Kawasaki Disease, MIS-C, prior cardiac surgery, etc.)

Coronary 121

Coronary CAD ACS ALS 121

Dr. Smith's ECG Blog

DECEMBER 31, 2024

Written by Pendell Meyers A woman in her 70s with known prior coronary artery disease experienced acute chest pain and shortness of breath. Her history and ECG were interpreted as very concerning for acute coronary syndrome which might benefit from acute reperfusion therapy. Vital signs were within normal limits. hours since onset.

Coronary 119

Coronary ACS STEMI CAD 119