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ECG library

LVH with a strain pattern

advanced

Decades of untreated hypertension; the clinic ECG prompts a phone call about 'possible ischemia'.

25 mm/s · 10 mm/mV · synthetic tracing
100%
IIIIIIaVRaVLaVFV1V2V3V4V5V6
II (rhythm)
Calipers:2000 ms50.0 small boxes30 bpm if R-RDrag the orange markers. One small box = 40 ms.

Key findings

  • LVH by voltage
  • Down-sloping lateral ST depression with asymmetric T inversion
  • Repolarization changes SECONDARY to depolarization changes

Learning points

  • Strain is the classic ischemia mimic: asymmetric, down-sloping, lateral, and stable across old ECGs. Compare with priors before activating anyone.
  • New or symmetric T inversion on top of LVH still earns an ischemia workup; strain explains the chronic pattern, not a new one.
  • The finding's real message is end-organ damage: this heart has been paying for the blood pressure for years.

Connected