title: Electrocardiographic manifestations: acute inferior wall myocardial infarction.
abstract: The 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG) is an important tool in evaluating the patient with acute myocardial infarction (MI). Patients with acute inferior wall myocardial infarction (IWMI) represent a heterogeneous group in terms of morbidity, mortality, Emergency Department (ED) management, and site of occlusion in the culprit coronary artery. The standard 12-lead EKG, right-sided chest leads and posterior chest leads, in conjunction with clinical findings often provide the necessary information for the Emergency Physician (EP) to predict complications, morbidity and mortality. IWMI patients may have associated right ventricular infarction (RVI) or lateral and posterior wall extension. Each of these entities is associated with specific hemodynamic abnormalities and increased mortality. In addition, various atrioventricular (AV) blocks are commonly associated with IWMI. This article presents several cases of IWMI with EKGs and a discussion of EKG interpretation in the setting of IWMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, York Hospital, York, Pennsylvania 17405, USA.
authors.forename: Noelle
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rotondo
authors.forename: Marc L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pollack
authors.forename: Theodore C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Harrigan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity