[How much harm can be caused by a badly recorded or badly interpreted ECG! (author's transl)].
Two cases are presented which support the sentence of the title. In a 38 years old man a life insurance company proposed an extra charge on the basis of a pseudoischemic ECG due to exceeding pressure of the writing pen on the ECG paper. In a 28 years old asymptomatic female an abnormal ECG was interpreted as due to ischemic heart disease. Physical activity was restricted and three pregnancies were interrupted. 18 years later an angiography showed normal coronary vessels. Some months later an echocardiogram showed an abnormal pericardial pattern, giving a possible explanation for the abnormal ECG.
D000328:Adult; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
Quanto danno può fare un elettrocardiogramma male esequito o male interpretato!