Abnormal ECG/Causes

[nickytt]

Hi everyone, I went to the ER as I felt I was having a panic attack and/or drug interaction from a medicine I was taking.  The ER Doctor told me that the my ECG indicated a past heart attack, can anyone help me understand what these readings mean?  

Vent Rate 96 bpm
PR interval 172 ms
QRS duration 90 ms
QT/QTc 332/419 ms
P-R-T axes 65 -43 24

Normal Sinus Rhythm
Left Axis deviation
Septal infarct, age undetermined
Inferior infarct, age determined

Abnormal ECG

What can cause a sudden abnormal ECG?  Can a new infection or virus cause this?  

Thank you in advance.

[nickytt]

ps-I am in my 40's and do smoke, not overweight, but feeling new feelings of anxiety, etc., some slight chest pain at times that I attribute to stress...

[nickytt]

Wow, thank you for the anaylsis...no one seemed that concerned about it at the ER, and then my primary doctor didnt seem too concerned either at the time...do you know if either of these can things be caused by a virus or bacterial infection or taking antibiotics at the time?

[is_something_wrong]

Hi,

I assume you're not in an age where heart attacks are expected.

I think you should ask for an echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart) just to get this cleared out. The left axis deviation may (possibly) indicate thickened left ventricle or other malfunctions, however it's just slightly to the left.

The "infarct diagnosis" is probably due to Q waves (first negative deflection in your ventricle activation, the "spike"). In some people (including me), Q waves are normal and we are born with them. They don't have any significance in my case. In other people, they can indicate old infarcts.

However, if you had both a septal and an inferior infarct, you would probably have noticed it (it would be hard to stay alive..).  One explaination may be that this EKG machine had other definitions of the Q wave duration, what is normal and what is not. You can't say for sure based on an EKG if you have an old infarct, but you should definitely get this investigated. Nothing can be ruled out unless you get a cardiologist to do the necessary tests.