Cardiology

Question 1

What are the causes of an Osborne J wave on an ECG

Answer 1

Hypercalcaemia, Hypothermia, subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Question 2

What would you expect to find on the ECG of a A 45 woman has just stepped off a flight from Japan when she develops severe pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. On examination her chest is clear.

Answer 2

s1q3t3, S wave on lead 1, pathological q wave on lead 3 and inverted t wave on v3. this is a sign of a pulmonary embolism.

Question 3

saddle shaped ST elevation can be seen in what pathology

Answer 3

pericarditis

Question 4

what are the ECG characteristics of brugada syndrome ?

Answer 4

In leads V1 – V3 there is >2mm ST elevation, the T waves are inverted and the ST segment has a characteristic ‘coved’ shape

Question 5

An ECG at a rate of 160 with no visible p waves but no sawtooth appearance and no variation of baseline is most likely to be …?

Answer 5

SVT (junctional supraventricular tachycardia (SVT): a narrow-complex tachycardia originating from the AV node.)

Question 6

How do you differentiate between atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter?

Answer 6

In atrial fibrillation, the atria beat irregularly. In atrial flutter, the atria beat regularly, but faster than usual and more often than the ventricles, so you may have four atrial beats to every one ventricular beat. In AFib, the heart rate ranges from 100 to 175 bpm. In atrial flutter up to 300 bpm and you get the sawtooth presentation