title: The S wave in acute anterior Q-wave myocardial infarction: a study with serial multilead precordial maps and standard ECGs.
abstract: To investigate the relationship of S waves with R waves and/or Q waves in the ECGs of patients with acute myocardial infarction, 20 patients with anterior Q-wave infarcts had serial 49-lead precordial maps and simultaneously recorded standard ECGs on admission and at 13 predetermined time intervals, extending to their discharge from the hospital. The sums of S waves (sigma S) from ECG leads of both precordial maps and standard ECGs showing ST-segment elevation on admission were correlated with the corresponding sums of R waves (sigma R) and/or Q waves (sigma Q). Correlation of sigma S by the precordial maps and the sigma S by the standard ECG was good (r = 0.88). However, correlation of sigma S with sigma R and sigma Q by both the precordial maps and standard ECG were poor (r values ranged between -0.02 and -0.32). Fair correlations were found between sigma S + sigma Q and the corresponding sigma R by both ECG systems (r = 0.36, precordial map and r = 0.40, standard ECG). The present study demonstrates (1) that precordial (consequently partial) ECG mapping systems have no advantage over standard precordial ECG, and (2) that quantitative data from S waves correlate weakly with similar information from corresponding R waves or Q waves, but fairly with the latter two combined, as recorded by the two ECG systems employed.
authors.affiliation: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York, New York.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Madias
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*