Page 168 - Clinical Pearls in Cardiology

156 Clinical Pearls in Cardiology

node. It is usually symptomatic and is associated with a
mortality rate approaching 80 percent. This is because of
the fact that a large area of infarcted territory is involved
in the case of anterior wall infarctions complicated by
conduction disturbance. This results in greater loss of
functioning myocardium. Hence, the complications and
mortality rate are higher. The current mortality may be
somewhat less due to improvements in the management
of acute myocardial infarction.
6. What are the various ECG changes encountered during
the evolution of an ST segment elevation myocardial
infarction?
The temporal evolution of electrocardiographic changes
during the course of an ST segment elevation myocardial
infarction is as shown in the Table 3.

Table 3: Serial ECG changes in myocardial infarction