title: Correlation of coronary angiography with "tombstoning" electrocardiographic pattern in patients after acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It has been suggested that a specific pattern of electrocardiographic (ECG) changes following acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the so-called "tombstoning," predicts a poorer outcome, although the cause and associations of such changes are not known. To address the possible cause and implications, we correlated angiographic findings with tombstoning in patients following AMI.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study investigated 124 patients with AMI, whose ECGs were taken within 24 h of onset of symptoms and who subsequently underwent angiography. In this population, 24 (19%) patients had a definite tombstoning pattern on their admission ECG.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with non-tombstoning ECGs, the significant differences in the tombstoning group are as follows: (1) All patients, including those with inferior infarction, had either total or partial occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery (100 vs. 44%, p < 0.0001); (2) LAD occlusions were significantly more severe and mostly proximal (100% occlusion: 50 vs. 20.5%, p = 0.02; <50% occlusion: 0 vs. 15.9% p = 0.039; proximal occlusion: 92 vs. 65%, p = 0.017); (3) patients with tombstoning ECGs had a significantly greater incidence of occlusion of all three coronary arteries (54.1 vs. 22%, p = 0.001); (4) tombstoning ECGs were more strongly associated with anterior than with inferior infarction (83.3 vs. 33%, p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patients with a tombstoning pattern on the admission ECG, who underwent angiography, were associated with occlusion of a high-grade stenosis of the proximal LAD artery (usually with involvement of more than one artery) and were predominantly seen in association with anterior infarction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiological Sciences, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Y G
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Camm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric