ECG STEMI Basics
Please describe: 1. What and where the pathology is 2. Where you would see reciprocal changes 3. Which artery is blocked, and 4. What other ECG’s are indicated.
ST elevations in II, III, AVF.
ST elevations in I, AVL, V5, V6
ST elevations in V1, V2
No ST elevations, but ST depressions in V1 and V2
ST elevation in aVR alone...
You may think this isn’t an MI because it’s not “greater than 1mm ST elevation in contiguous leads”, but, in fact, lead aVR has no contiguous leads. ST elevation in aVR on it’s own is concerning for Left Main Artery occlusion. If this elevation has reciprocal st depressions in the rest of the leads, it may also be secondary to high stress – severe anemia, sepsis, PE, head bleeds that cause a lower flow state to someone with triple vessel disease.
Issue: Due to its location + the fact that it sometimes gives redundant information (reciprocal information covered by leads aVL, II, V5 and V6), we often ignore it
Studies show that ST segment elevation in aVR strongly predicted proximal LAD
aVR ST segment elevation greater than the ST segment elevation in V1 predicts acute left main coronary artery (LMCA) occlusion with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 80%
What else is aVR on it's own good for?
By Dr. Brenda Oiyemhonlan, Dr. Andrew Grock, and Dr. Sally Bogoch
References:
Gorgels, A., Engelen, D., & Wellens, H. (2001). Lead aVR, a mostly ignored but very valuable lead in clinical electrocardiography. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 1355-1356.
Vorobiof, G., & Ellestad, M. (2011). Lead aVR: Dead or Simply Forgotten? JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, 187-190.
uptodate.com
rivers
life in the fast lane http://lifeinthefastlane.com/ecg-library/
andygrock
- Resident Editor In Chief of blog.clinicalmonster.com.
- Co-Founder and Co-Director of the ALiEM AIR Executive Board - Check it out here: http://www.aliem.com/aliem-approved-instructional-resources-air-series/
- Resident at Kings County Hospital
Latest posts by andygrock (see all)
- A Tox Mystery…. - May 26, 2015
- Of Course, US Only for Kidney Stones… - May 18, 2015
- Case of the Month 11: Answer - May 12, 2015
- Too Classic a Question to Be Bored Review - May 5, 2015
- Case of the Month 11: Presentation - May 1, 2015
ST elevation in aVR is a little more complicated than that. It can be a sign of transmural ischemia at the base of the septum, which can be from LMCO as you said, but also from very proximal LAD as long as it is proximal to the first septal perforater which supplies the basal septum. It can also be seen in severe triple vessel disease.
But STE in aVR can also be a reciprocal change from diffuse ischemia when associated with ST depression in multiple leads. This pattern is not specific to coronary occlusion and is seen in subarachnoid hemorrhage, severe hypothermia, seizures, and ischemic stroke.
Reference:
Engelen DJ, Gorgels AP, Cheriex EC, De Muinck ED, Ophuis AJ, Dassen WR, et al. Value of the electrocardiogram in localizing the occlusion site in the left anterior descending coronary artery in acute anterior myocardial infarction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 1999;34(2):389-95.
Kim E, Birnbaum Y. Acute coronary syndromes presenting with transient diffuse ST segment depression and st segment elevation in lead aVR not caused by “acute left main coronary artery occlusion”: description of two cases. Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc. 2013;18(2):204-9.
Wang H, Hollingsworth J, Mahler S, Arnold T. Diffuse ST segment depression from hypothermia. International journal of emergency medicine. 2010;3(4):451-4.
Mitsuma W, Ito M, Kodama M, Takano H, Tomita M, Saito N, et al. Clinical and cardiac features of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Resuscitation. 2011;82(10):1294-7.
Good point Reisman. When their is ST elev. in aVR, remember to consider diffuse myocardial ischemia as a result of global hypoperfusion/shock and treat this accordingly. Once you call your “code H”, your “cardiologist” will not.