ST and T abnormalities

what does ST and T abnormalities Mean on an ECG

[Artaud]

Hi,

If you look at a rhythm trace of the heart, such as you would often see on TV, the various parts of it are given letter designations. Some of the common designations are P-Wave, QRS Complex, ST-Segment, and T-Wave.

Imagine a straight horizontal line. The P-Wave is a hump in the trace that occurs just as your heart is experiencing the next beat. Next, a little more straight line, then the line drops, this is the Q Point, the trace then goes the opposite way above the straight line to the R Point, then drops to below the straight line to the S Point, the returns to the straight line and continues on for a little bit, then another hump in the line occurs, this is the T-Wave. The Q, R, and S Point together are known as the QRS Complex. The area after the S Point to the beginning of the T-Wave is known as the ST-Segment.

Search Google for [ Electrocardiogram Wiki ] without the brackets of course. There is an interesting article on the topic of Electrocardiograms. About half way down the page is the rhythm strip image I was talking about. It shows the various parts of the EKG Trace labeled.

What does ST and T abnormalities mean on an ECG? You need to ask your Doctor for specifics and recommendations. Various problems can cause an Elevation or Depression of the ST-Segment. Also, the T-Wave can be inverted, or perhaps have other abnormalities. The problem is that there are so many possible causes of these abnormalities that I wouldn’t even try to say why you have them. Some of the possible causes are serious, some are not so serious. Doctors evaluate the EKG and decide if anything seen on is a problem or a sign of a pending problem. Often, the problem is not serious and they send the patient on their way. If the patient has the opportunity to see the test results, the patient may be concerned about the findings, even if the Doctor is not concerned.

You need to ask your Doctor the significance of the findings. No one on this forum will be able to tell you much about your question because there are so many possible causes for it, and because it may be of no significance.

Hope this helps.

Be well.

[artskip]

I've been concerned about S and T abnormalities on  my stress echo. Your explanation helped me. For my own peace of mind, I'am going to ask my Dr. for another stress echo, it's been well over a year since I had one.  Thanks