title: Standard electrocardiographic and signal-averaged electrocardiographic changes in congestive heart failure.
abstract: A 54-year-old man with congestive heart failure and peripheral edema was monitored during treatment with serial electrocardiograms (ECGs) and two signal-averaged ECGs. Weights and a host of ECG parameters were monitored. ECGs recorded in the 5 years before his index admission were also considered in the quantitative ECG analysis. Amelioration of his peripheral edema was associated with reduction of his weight and increase in the QRS and P-wave amplitudes, and duration in QRS complexes and QT intervals in the ECGs, but unchanged signal-averaged ECGs. This case report provides insight into the mechanism of the change in QRS duration in ECGs during changing edematous states resulting from clinical deterioration or improved compensation in patients with congestive heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University, New York, NY; and the Division of Cardiology, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Elmhurst, NY 11373, USA. madiasj@nychhc.org
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Madias
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000503:physiopathology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted