Q&A

What does ST depression on an ECG mean?

What does ST depression on an ECG mean?

ST depression in ECG at entry indicates severe coronary lesions and large benefits of an early invasive treatment strategy in unstable coronary artery disease; the FRISC II ECG substudy.

What causes saddle shaped ST elevation?

Pericarditis. This refers to inflammation of the lining of the heart known as the pericardium. It leads to classic saddle-shaped ST elevation that is widespread and not related to a coronary artery territory. The other salient feature is PR depression.

Where is saddle shaped ST segment is seen?

(i) ST segment morphology (i.e. shape – see Figure 5): Pericarditis is also associated with a concave ST morphology; in pericarditis, this “saddle shape” is characteristically seen globally throughout the ECG.

Is ST depression serious?

ST depression in ECG at entry indicates severe coronary lesions and large benefits of an early invasive treatment strategy in unstable coronary artery disease.

Why does St depression occur?

ST segment depression occurs because when the ventricle is at rest and therefore repolarized, the depolarized ischemic subendocardium generates electrical currents that are recorded by an overlying electrode.

Can stress cause ST segment depression?

An ischemic zone of 50% transmural extent covering the entire left ventricular subendocardium caused an ST-depression pattern similar to that observed during stress test. Conclusion: In contrast to regional subendocardial ischemia, global subendocardial ischemia can explain ST depression in our model.

What is ST depression in stress test?

Objective: The electrocardiogram (ECG) obtained during stress testing often shows a typical pattern of primary ST depression. A similar pattern can occur in unstable angina. Current textbooks consider ST depression as a direct result of partial occlusion of a coronary artery.

Why is there PR depression in pericarditis?

PR segment depression is only reliably seen in viral pericarditis, not by other causes. It is often only an early transient phenomenon (lasting only hours). MI can also cause PR segment depression due to atrial infarction (or PR segment elevation in aVR).

What qualifies as ST depression?

ST depression occurs when the J point is displaced below baseline. Just like ST elevation, not all ST depression represents myocardial ischemia or an emergent condition. There are multiple conditions associated with ST depression. Some of these include hypokalemia, cardiac ischemia, and medications such as digitalis.

When does ST depression occur?

Normal (physiological) ST segment depressions occur during physical exercise. These ST segment depressions have an upsloping ST segment. The depression in the J 60 point is usually <1 mm and they resolve rapidly once the exercise is stopped.

What is normal ST depression?

ST segment elevation or depression up to 0.1 mV generally is considered within normal limits.

How much ST depression is significant?

ST segment depression may be determined by measuring the vertical distance between the patient’s trace and the isoelectric line at a location 2-3 millimeters from the QRS complex. It is significant if it is more than 1 mm in V5-V6, or 1.5 mm in AVF or III.

What kind of ECG is a saddleback?

A “saddleback” (ie, Brugada-2) ECG pattern is assessed for by applying the criteria in the Figure explained by Dr. Smith above. I illustrate application of these measurements in the magnified insert of the middle complex in lead V2.

What does upsloping ST segment depression in chest lead mean?

Occurrence of upsloping ST segment depressions with prominent T-waves in the majority of the chest leads may indicate an acute occlusion in the LAD (left anterior descending artery). This ECG pattern is referred to as de Winter’s ECG.

What should the ST elevation be in ECG # 1?

The shape of the ST elevation in leads V1 and V2 in ECG #1 is concave up, which is usually a benign morphology. As per Dr. Smith — the “saddleback” configuration (seen best here in lead V2) is rarely due to acute MI. Apart from leads V1 and V2 — there really is no abnormal ST segment deviation.

Are there ST segment depressions in STE-ACS?

In STE-ACS, on the other hand, the ST segment depressions are secondary findings and the primary findings are the ST segment elevations. As explained in the previous article, ST segment depressions in STE-ACS are actually reciprocal (mirror images) to ST segment elevations.