Abnormal EKG result and questions?

[DonLS]

Last week at night I had palpitations (skiped beats) and 1 flutter.  Next day I had some pain in my shoulder so went to Urgent Care and they did an EKG.  Doctor said EKG was ok at that time.  I made a follow up appt. with my primary doctor who did another EKG.  The second EKG came back abnormal.  The reading stated: "Consider Inferior Ischemia".  Doctor took my pulse twice and said it was good.  Listened to my heart and did not comment.  Then he refered me to a Cardiologist.  What can I construe from the Abnormal EKG?  The EKG results are: Vent rate: 64 BPM, QRS Duration 94ms, QT/QTC: 388/400ms, PRT Axes: 47 25 13, t-wave abnormality, consider inferior ischemia.  What do these results mean?  I know "consider" is a general word, but do the EKG results mean anything bad?  I'm 39 y/r old, and try to exercise on a regular basis.

[ed34]

Hi

This is a very heavy topic, there are some big calculations because you have to adjust the readings based on heart rate. Modern ECG machines do all this for you. A good place for reading about it is wikipedia, for example, search QT INTERVAL or T-WAVE.

[DonLS]

I appreciate your time Ed.  Could you please help me try and understand the EKG readings?  The QRS, QT/QTC, and PRT, are they within limits /  normal?  If they are out of limits, how far out?   I understand that you are not a doctor and your opinion is just that.  Please help me educate myself.  Can you recommend any good websites to help educate me?

[ed34]

Just to add. The T wave is the part of the wave where the ventricles relax after contracting to pump blood. If the ventricles are stiff, relaxing slower than usual, then it can point to artery disease.

[ed34]

I think you will be given a stress test or something. The report says that it is worth investigating the possibility of a coronary artery blockage. A stress test will be a good evaluation.