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This is the Incidental ECG of an apparently healthy 50-year-old businessman, recorded while  applying for health insurance

How will you describe this ECG?

Let me magnify it for you 

Why this big fuss about this ECG?

 Such ECGs are so common. Looking at the ST segment, we are supposed to think of significant CAD,, LVH, Aortic stenosis or variants of cardiomyopathy, and sometimes electrolytic shifts. The fact that it is recorded at rest, and the patient is absolutely asymptomatic, it is very unlikely there is ongoing ischemia.It could be a myocardial origin or an unknown repolarisation pattern. But, one thing is clear, we can’t send this guy under the label of non-specific ST/T changes.

The Echo was done it was normal. No WMA,  LVH. The aortic valve was perfect. 

Is CAG indicated here?

Three responses came from three different cardiologists. Everyone agreed, the stress test is not going to be useful, as  baseline  is unstable

  1. Absolutely not Indicated, since he is asymptomatic. I believe the history and Echo. Please follow him up
  2. A definite yes for CAG. (Being a scientific cardiologist, without excluding CAD, I can’t be at peace. Will do at least a CT angiogram)
  3. A third cardiologist said a CT angiogram is waste of time and wanted to do a radial CAG in 10 minutes in his newly opened hi-fi radial lounge.

What happened then?

Don’t know, whether he underwent CAG or not.  But, I can confidently say he will have a normal coronary angiogram.  How can you be so confident?  Confidence doesn’t mean I am correct. Look at the ST segment again. It is not true ischemic depression. It is neither non-sustained nor horizontal or downsloping*, This could be referred to as, primary T inversion with secondary ST segment dragging. Regarding the management,  the first response is ideal,

*Classical slope should begin at J point. Late downsloping has little predictive value as in this ECG.

Is Echo good enough to rule out structural heart disease?

Even after the echo was reported normal, few questioned the quality of the echocardiogram and asked to look specifically for apical wall motion with speckle track and GLS. ( I know, MRI is a must nowadays to rule out structural heart disease as Echo can’t rule out intrinsic myocardial disarray, infiltration, etc)

How is ST dragging different from ST depression?

                                                                Classical horizontal ST depression

Final message

The purpose of posting this ECG is, some ST segments create disproportionate panic than it deserves. The concept of  T waves pulling down the distal part of the ST segment which can be called ST segment dragging is being proposed here.

Some provocation for advanced readers 

Re-exploring the foundations of electro-cardiology is always welcome. Worth diving deep into mysterious terminology non-specific ST/T changes. ST  segment in the ECG  corresponds to the most stressful period since it represents the active part of mechanical contraction. Curiously, it Includes the entire electrical (Repolarisation) & most parts of mechanical relaxation. The true onset of LV myocardial mechanical relaxation we can’t be sure, It happens somewhere in late phase 2. I think it’s so difficult to decode that timing. But, what we can presume is ST segment behavior in its distal half is less specific for both ischemic as well as hemodynamic stress

The electro-mechanical continuity within the ST segment is so intimate, and the demarcation point between them is invisible in many clinical situations.   No surprise, we are largely in the dark about the true influence of the ST segment over T wave morphology and vice versa. (ie distal ST depression pulling down the T wave )  Though chronologically T must follow the S in timing,  it would seem impossible for “T” to go back in time and pull the ST down. (If QRS can precede P in a junctional rhythm, why not T do the same for ST? )  I am not sure whether there is any timing involved in antegrade vs retrograde repolarisation across endo-epicardial repolarisation dissociation.Further, we know very well, myocardial scars cause fragmented depolarisation in QRS. Can anyone guess effect of these scars in repolarisation vectors? (Fragmented ST segment ?)  I think it is worth pursuing this phenomenon. Let the young new age Sodipellares’ look into this.

Though the traditional rule of thumb, makes ST segment shifts more sinister, T-wave changes are largely benign, It is not an easy job to segregate benign from more serious forms of T-wave changes. Isolated new onset T inversion, can be an equally troublesome marker, especially mid-chest leads in the male population. 

It is interesting to note, not every T wave Inversion is empowered to drag the ST segment down. We don’t know why. It is something to do with the curvature of the shoulder zone of phase 2 /3 of the action potential. In this context, ST dragging could be an important concept to explore. 

 

. An example of isolated T inversion without influencing the ST segment. Try to compare this ECG with the one that is shown to drag the ST segment

Diastolic T wave stress

One more issue, which we are not yet clear is the timing of 2nd sound with reference to the T wave. It is a fact, a significant part of the T-wave will represent early diastolic hemodynamic stress* as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

If some body is struggling with same problem, say for over three decades , there is something seriously wrong with the way we deal with the problem. How do you localise accessory pathway in WPW syndrome from 12 lead ECG ? is one such entity, This question is asked exclusively in cardiology board exams. Now a 2023 paper from EUROPACE claims, it has come out with a simple algorithm bettering all the previous ones. Please check it for yourself.

One thing we can say with conviction is most of these embryological remnant pathways are posteriorly or laterally dragged in peri AV annular region or the para septal region. Very few appear anteriorly, if anterior it is more often placed on the right side.

Why should we take this question easy ?

Try asking any experienced EP specialist* to localise a pathway in given 12 lead ECG . Don’t get surprised by a long silence before they commit, because they know the truth, and how delicate this question might sound on quiet a few occasion, because of various anatomical and physiological reasons.

*Never fail to appreciate their hard long hours in cath lab to spot, analyse and shoot these tracts.(EP stuff is not like angioplasties, which, many can do even in half sleep!)

Final message

Yes, localising WPW can be either a fascinating or frustrating exercise depending on our understanding about the attitudinal cardiac anatomy, variable autonomic tone dependent morphological behaviour of delta waves, PR intervals, QRS axis ,the transition zones etc. Shrewd fellows may go through this 12 lead stress test. ,

For others just try to localise right from left , & then posterior or lateral Forget the anterior ones. This is more than suffice. Unlike drug trials, where statistics are often battered , here the Incident numbers are the key measure of truth. (Even without seeing a ECG you are likely to be correct in 80 % times, if you localise the pathway to posterior, para-septal or left lateral zones. )

Reference

A 62-year-old man who is being scheduled for prostate surgery with no cardiac risk factors or comorbid status came for surgical clearance. I examined him and took an ECG, everything was fine and gave him clearance for surgery.

 I was surprised to spot him the very next day, waiting in the lounge of my office. He said, his anesthetist was not happy with my pre-op-cardiac assessment report, suggested it was incomplete, and sent me back for echocardiography to know the LV ejection fraction.

I wanted to clarify with the patient, what exactly happened when he met his anesthesiologist.

“I am not sure doctor, the moment he saw your report, he called my urologist. I overheard his call, they were discussing the need for an echocardiogram and they were also wondering,  how could a cardiologist give a  surgical clearance without even an echocardiography”.

I wasn’t really surprised by the turn of events and told the patient. 

“I am experienced enough to say, your heart is 100 % normal without an echocardiogram”.

“I understand doctor, but sorry to bother you. Can you please take it for the sake of my anesthetist and urologist, after all, right now I am worried about their peace of mind” 

“You are absolutely right. This is a topsy-turvy world. Investigations are dictated to me in my own field of expertise. Anyway, I am not a fool, to expect a patient’s help to guard my principles of practice. Please check in, let me do the echocardiogram as they wish” 

Thank you so much, Doctor“.

I showed him, the vigorously contracting ventricle and taught the student trainee who was nearby, a simple clinical tip ie, a loud first heart sound on auscultation is good enough to tell you, the EF is beyond 60% in most situations. (A forceful AML movement is a direct auditory marker of EF %)

Final message

It is getting more & more clear,  physicians will face huge hurdles in applying their clinical skills to practice. They may even be unauthorized to do so. It seems, in our misplaced quest for perfection, we have fallen into a scientific trap, that every clinical decision must be authenticated by some objective lab-made obsession. The word clinical acumen could soon become a laughing stock, as AI-powered medical zombies are waiting to join our consultation suits.

(Meanwhile,  the guidelines are very clear. (Read below)  Do echo only in high-risk surgery, if patients’ functional capacity is poor. But, let me confess, at least in our part of the world,  we are happy to violate standard guidelines  without any degree of guilt )

Reference 

ESC Scientific Document Group, 2022 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular assessment and management of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery: Developed by the task force for cardiovascular assessment and management of patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Endorsed by the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC), European Heart Journal, Volume 43, Issue 39, 14 October 2022, Pages 3826–3924https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac270

 

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This is an ECG of a 25-year-old, recorded in master health check-up. 

 It would be mind-boggling to know the prevalence of such ERS patterns in the general population. One estimate suggests it could be anywhere between 3 to 13  % depending upon the criteria used. Let us assume the mean as 5 %. Then, it would be 30 crores of human beings in our habitat show this ECG pattern. If applied, in my city Chennai alone 5 lakh people could carry this tag.

While it is true, some forms of ERS and J wave syndrome can be markers of serious ventricular arrhythmias, either spontaneous or at times of Ischemia. Currently, It has become a fad, in cardiology academic circles*, to propagate the idea that ERS is no longer a benign condition. This is not acceptable at any degree of cognition. This happened mainly after few studies in powerful journals created some alarmist views. (*Maybe there is a bit of truth there. I still have doubts about whether we interpreted the Michel Haïssaguerre  study properly)

Final message

ERS is a widely prevalent normal ECG variation with a minuscule risk. High-risk subsets need to be screened only if the J waves encroach and spill dangerously into the ST segment as well. Of course, this pattern is of serious concern if there is a family history of young SCDs has occurred.

Reference

Here is a good review of this topic by

The main reason for all those jitters, we cardiologists, get every time we puncture the IAS is not due to a lack of expertise and experience perse. There are two more reasons. First and foremost, it is still largely a blind* procedure. (Even in this era, where drones with HD vision shoot one-meter targets from a 1000 KM range )  *TEE and ICE are there, but they rarely give enough confidence. 

The second reason is more important and is rectifiable. It is the perception error in our anatomical cognition, that is fed to us from first-year medical school. We are made to believe (at least to people like me ) The right atrium is aligned like a perfect box on the right side, sharing a wall called IAS, and the left atrium is obediently placed left of the right atrium. Please realize the heart is such a complex twisted single tubular organ, the venous end, in a stunning backward loop brings the LA  most superior and posterior to the right atrium overriding the left-right relationship.) 

The right atrial terrain and IAS with multiple bumps and holes. Note the true IAS constitutes only 20% . This is where our punctures need to be.

Development of IAS 

IAS development and the number of layers it sandwiches, the tortuous tracts of PFOs, the fossas, and its variable limbus is a big topic. Further, It is worth recalling, the true IAS hardly forms 20 % of the area of the interatrial contact surface.

(the differential regression of sinus venous,  along with infolding of the roof and along with curious septum spurium , the ubiquitous septum secundum make the texture, area & shape of IAS, a fascinating creation, though troublesome for the cardiologists ! ) Whoever named that part of vanishing  IAS  as spurious, (I think it is Henrry Grey ) has much fore-vision.

 

Forget about all this. Tell me how to cross this difficult terrain 

Coming to the real world of interventions,  we need to do targeted punctures in different spots of IAS in various interventions.(Mitra clips, LAA device, PTMC, PV abaltions, Mitral paravalvular leaks , TMVR etc) This has made this task even more tricky. Experts are always there to help us out. Like swimming, it can never be learned in books.

This 19-minute clip from. Seoul, South Korea is an excellent resource. Thanks to  Dr. Sang Weon Park 

 

Along with sound anatomical knowledge, improved hardware, and imaging like deflectable sheaths, TEEs, and ICE (intracardiac echo ), let us hope, it will soon become an easier task for everyone.

Final message

 Understanding “attitudinal cardiac anatomy” with fluoroscopic overlay is the key. Again, it needs to be stressed, “Right is not right, and left is not left” when it comes to true atrial geo position. LA is equally posterior, superior, and of course to the left of RA. Some of my colleagues are blessed with a special 3-dimensional skillset  (Inherited ?) I failed miserably to understand this, till very late. I am sure, Dr. Park’s video will help all our youngsters to cross the difficult gateway to the left side of the heart. 

Reference 

One more good read

B. O’Brien et al. / International Journal of Cardiology 233 (2017) 12–22

 

Fibrillation is a continuous, chaotic muscular activity. In AF, atrial muscle is expected to lose all coordinated contractions with fibrillatory waves replacing P waves. Have you ever spotted a suspicious  P wave in a strip of otherwise explicit AF?  If not, this write-up is not for you.

An evolving rare theme in Atrial fibrillation 

Have a look at this ECG 

Here is an ECG, that was reported as AF, multiple APDs, or Possible AF, Pre AF. I suggested the term AF in transition. While few agreed, many said it is a straightforward SR with APDs, making it appear irregular RR. 

But, the fact of the matter is, ECGs are insensitive to pick all fibrillatory wavelets. It can selectively pick a few coarse F waves and make them appear as P. I think, in this era, we should not diagnose AF by proxy, ie absent P waves. Rather, we need to look actively for fibrillatory wavelets. (Imagine all sinus arrests will qualify for f fine AF with a slow ventricular rate  is it not ?)

The semantics of AF nomenclature is long. Intermittent AF, and paroxysmal AF, are well-known entities. It is now clear, AF can occur for a few seconds and vanish too. It seems we need to play some more linguistics with the most common cardiac arrhythmia. (Non-sustained AF,  evanescent AF, etc )

Some thoughts on this hide &  seek P waves 

  • Apart from the conventional list of absent P waves, one more example is repetitive APD can stun the atrial muscle for a few moments or minutes.
  • Then, we always have the issue( eluded to earlier) of sinus node paralysis, with irregular junctional escape mimicking AF.
  • Amiodarone can reduce fibrillatory rate, and (AF cycle length ?) Coarse F waves slow and stabilize it to mimic an organized P wave
  • P on Ta waves (Like R on T ) can trigger a nonsustained AF for a few moments in a functional manner without real pathology in atria.

 

A funny memory  brings back an EP truth 

During our student days, my Professor used to trap us with this question, Which atria would fibrillate in mitral stenosis?  Many of us blinked, and few had no hesitation to say, it is the LA that fibrillates. Now, after 50 years we realize, how fascinating the secrets AF has unfolded. Some organized activities are often in the right atrium, even as LA begins the process of AF. It is possible it may take variable time for the left atrial chaos to spill over to RA*. During these electrical uncertain times, some of the right atrial P wave activity refuses to die down.  Even more dramatic one Atrium alone can permanently fibrillate and others completely insulated by blocking the signal in the Interatrial pathways. (Ref 1 ) Ndrepepa’s paper in the JCE 2000)

Final message.

True scientists rarely bother about questioning a dictum. The concept of non-uniform AF was first thought of by (Schrmp et al Ref 2) 100 years ago in 1920, and Zipes(Ref 3) hypothesized this in 1973. now, in the Year 2000, Ndrepepa confirmed it with EP studies. The spotting of occasional  P waves is not forbidden in AF if the contralateral atria decide to block the incoming AF signals and keep generating their own P waves 

Young EP guys, now that you are equipped with the sophisticated intracardiac GPS,  please pursue this provocation in AF. One more piece of evidence we observed in the echo lab. Try to look at Tricuspid doppler A velocity waves in full-blown AF patients. You can see the surprise for yourself. This is very good research work to do. This is one of the ideas I gave to my fellows at MMC. Now, it is free for all to pursue whoever wants to do this. The clinical implication* will follow.

* A lingering query, how common is RAA clot in mitral stenosis with AF and the possible threat of pulmonary embolism?

Reference

1,Ndrepepa G, Zrenner B, Schreieck J, Karch MR, Schneider MA, Schömig A, Schmitt C. Left atrial fibrillation with regular right atrial activation and a single left-to-right electrical interatrial connection: multisite mapping of dissimilar atrial rhythms. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2000 May;11(5):587-92

2.Zipes DP. DeJoseph RL: Dissimilar atrial rhythms in man and dog. AmJCardioi I973;32:6l8-628.

3.Schrumpf P: De 1’interference de deux rythmes sinusaux. Preuve  du dualisme du nodule de Keilh. Arch Mai Qwur 1920;l3:168-173

Postamble

The snapshot from Ref 1 . The term Isolated AF confined to one atrium could be a rare event, but, no one can deny we have plenty to learn from them

 

LA dimension and volume have become vital parameters in recent times, especially, with the entity of HFpEF is becoming so common. LA not only acts as a live barometer, reflecting all that happens in LV, but it is also a chronic marker of LV diastolic function. (Funnily referred to as HBA1c of diastolic dysfunction) 

What is normal LA dimension & volume ? 

  • Normal left atrial diameter < 4.1 cm in men or < 3.9 cm in women
  • Normal left atrial volume indexed for body surface area (BSA) is 34 ml/m2 for both women and men 

Which part of the cardiac cycle do we measure? 

Ever since Wiggers introduced the overwhelming concept of LV systole and diastole, most of us ignored the fact that atria do have a separate contraction relaxation cycle, independent of what happens in the ventricle. Of course, atria and ventricles act as a single chamber in diastole. In reality, atria lack true boundaries when it acts as a conduit. The LA dimension varies considerably during the atrial cardiac cycle. Look at the  LA pressure-volume loop, which can frighten anyone, with its horizontally lying figure of 8 pattern. During every cardiac cycle, the volume reaches atleast two troughs and one peak.

Don’t get frightened with this graph, spend some time, and you will get it right, Begin at  “3” o clock position with the onset of diastole with a downsloping green loop, that continues as the red line of atrial contraction to end up in systole. The entire black loop, that happens during ventricular systole depicts the true reservoir function. with MV closed. ,

 

As of now, we have a consensus, LA volume is measured typically in LV end-systolic frame. ( Rather, we measure it at maximum LA volume ) However, we have 4 different LA  volumetric components to assess, as this article excellently depicts. (Hoit BD. Left atrial size and function: role in prognosis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Feb 18;63(6):493-505.)

What could be the limitations of the traditional end-systolic measurement?

No single measurement will give an overall LA function assessment. But still, Somehow, we have measured the maximum LA  volume as a reference of true diastolic function. This happens in LV end-systolic point where atria reach the maximum size. But, here is a catch, we assess the left atrial function before its main physiological function of emptying takes place.

How about assessing  LA efficiency after it completes its job, ie end diastole? 

In LV function end-systolic dimension has pride of place as it is devoid of influence from loading condition. If applying the same logic, the “end atrial” systolic dimension(Which is the same as LV end-diastolic point/or post A ) should be perfect. It can also help measure the residual LA volume after its systole.

A potential advantage of LV end-diastolic dimension (The Heart & Soul study )

Maybe, this is less affected in the presence of MR systolic jet will spuriously elevate LA volume. In AF also this parameter is less likely to be influenced by LA preload.

Final message

Suddenly, we are debating a fundamental Issue, ie timing of LA measurement. While the end-systolic size/volume is the current standard, the LA dimension in the end diastole also provides useful info. There are at least 4 different LA volumes, at different parts of the LA cycle that need to be studied for a proper understanding of diastology (Unlike LV which has only two).

Now, we may need to ponder, if there is a mean LA volume, measured with the 3D volumetric analysis or MRI, that could be representative of the global LA function. 

Reference

Thadani SR, Shaw RE, Fang Q, Whooley MA, Schiller NB. Left Atrial End-Diastolic Volume Index as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Outcomes: The Heart and Soul Study. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2020 Apr;13(4):e009746. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.119.009746. Epub 2020 Apr 20. PMID: 32306763; PMCID: PMC8846436.