title: Acute myocardial ischemia monitoring before and during angioplasty by a novel vectorcardiographic parameter set.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This work evaluates the vectorcardiographic dynamic changes in ischemic patients before and during Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Four QRS-loop parameters were computed in 51 ischemic and 52 healthy subjects with the objective of assessing the vectorcardiographic differences between both groups: maximum vector magnitude (QRS(mVM)), planar area (QRS(PA)), maximum distance between centroid and loop (QRS(mDCL)) and perimeter (QRS(P)).The conventional ST-change vector magnitude (STC(VM)), QRS-vector difference (QRS(VD)) and spatial ventricular gradient (SVG) were also calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistical minute-by-minute PTCA comparison against a healthy population showed that ischemic patients monitoring is greatly enhanced when all the QRS-loop parameters, in combination with the standard STC(VM), QRS(VD) and SVG indexes, are used in the classification. Sensitivity and Specificity, in turn, reached rather high values, 95.4% and 95.2%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These new vectorcardiographic set of complementary QRS-loop parameters, when combined with the classics STC(VM), QRS(VD) and SVG indexes, increase sensitivity and specificity for acute ischemia monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Gabinete de Tecnología Médica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de San Juan (UNSJ), San Juan, Argentina. Electronic address: rcorrea@gateme.unsj.edu.ar.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Pedro D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Arini
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Max E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Valentinuzzi
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laciar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000379:methods*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014672:Vectorcardiography / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Cardiac ischemia; Coronary Angioplasty; QRS-loop parameters