ECG Results

Test required prior to surgery and now I have to go get clearance based on the results but no explanation was given as to why they are bad or what they show.

Vent Rate: 76bpm; PR interval 162ms; QRS duration 80ms; QT/Qtc 390/438ms; PRT axes 17-1-20
Normal sinus, cannot rule out laferier infarct, age undetermined, abnormal ECG...

What the heck does all this mean?
thanks.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

The first section is all normal

Vent Rate: 76bpm -- normal
PR interval 162ms--normal
QRS duration 80ms--normal
QT/Qtc 390/438ms--normal
PRT axes 17-1-20--normaljavascript:submit_post_comments();
Post Comment

Normal sinus, cannot rule out laferier infarct, age undetermined, abnormal ECG...

The part that caught their attention is that they cannot rule out a lateral infarct.  This can sometimes mean either ischemia (not enough blood to your heart), previous heart attack, or normal variant.  Further tests and/or history can help determine this.

If you are going for a surgery, they will want to know if you have coronary disease because it may affect the medications they give you.

I hope this answers your question.  Good luck with your surgery and thanks for posting.  Please let me know if this doesn't answer your question.

[GW911]

Thanks that helps. I guess the next question would be what lead them (in the test) to think there might be a infract? My last two ECG's were 'normal'. Thus am I to assume this issue cropped up between my last ECG (9/07) and now? and if so, then I would have to assume that I had a mild heart attack. Yikes.

[Michael J. McWilliams, M.D.]

that one is tough to answer without seeing the EKGs.  I have seen significant changes like this with ekg's due to deep breaths.

[GW911]

Well, that was clear as mud! but I understand that you really need the charts to see the picture. I guess this is another trip to the cardiologists with my back doctor's test results.

[Barbarella]

Don't worry to much about your EKG showing a possible heart attack.  Especially since your last two EKG's were normal.  I had an EKG done at the ER which showed a previous heart attack, my husband had an EKG done at a Cardiologist's office which also showed a previous heart attack.  After many tests it proved that neither I nor my husband had a previous heart attack.  I had an EKG done one week after the one who showed a previous heart attack, and the EKG one week later was totally normal, I still had to go through all kinds of tests though so did my husband.  We both have healthy hearts.  The Cardiologist who I saw said to me and these were his exact words "I'm sick and tired of these computerized EKG machines spitting out false heart attacks".

Since your last two EKG's were normal I would not worry to much.  The next step might be an echo they want to do on your heart, a stress test etc.  My husband even failed the stress test twice (he was a heavy smoker at the time and couldn't catch his breath long enough) he then had to have an angiogram because he failed two stress tests, and his heart came out excellent NO blockages and that at the age of 60 yrs old, and a smoker of 4 packs a day for 45 yrs.  He since quit smoking by the way.  Thank god!

Off the wall EKG's will never shake me in my boots again until I see a Cardiologist who will check me out throughly.  I wish they'd go back to the old EKG's.  The Cardiologist told me that these computerized EKGT's spit out the worst case scenerio at times if you only breath different or under high anxiety etc etc.