Background: Lets face it. All of us have been interrupted by the onslaught of triage ECGs for interpretation. This constant flow of pink paper with black scribble causes frequent task switching, interrupts train of thought, and ultimately can lead to medical errors, which affects the patients in front of us. On the other hand, it […]
This years ACEP 2016 conference took place in Las Vegas, NV from Oct 16th – 19th. There was greater than 350 courses, labs, and workshops given throughout the week. It was impossible to make all of these great lectures, but I was able to take away some very important clinical pearls that I wanted to […]
Lead aVR is a commonly ignored lead and I have even heard of it referred to as the Rodney Dangerfield of ECG leads as it gets no respect. I have anecdotally heard many EM physicians activate the cath lab for STE in lead aVR and many cardiologists say that these are not STEMI patients. So […]
Background: The electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most useful diagnostic studies for identification of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The classic teaching is ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is defined as symptoms consistent with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) + new ST-segment elevation at the J point in at least 2 […]
Background: Left Bundle Branch Block (LBBB) on the ECG makes accurate recognition of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) rather difficult. The 1996 and 2004 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) STEMI guidelines recommended immediate reperfusion therapy for patients with potentially ischemic symptoms and new, or presumed new, LBBB. In 2013, this recommendation was removed from […]
