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Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography
April 8, 2013

ST-Segment Elevation Followed by Progressive Widening of the QRS Complex

Author Affiliations
 

SECTION EDITORS: JEFFREY TABAS, MD; PAUL D. VAROSY, MD; GREGORY M. MARCUS, MD; NORA GOLDSCHLAGER, MD

JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(7):490. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.2959a

A 56-year-old physician was referred to our coronary care unit (CCU) for urgent coronary intervention. His epigastric pain had started 2 hours earlier, and the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded thereafter by the ambulance team in his home is shown in Figure 1A. During transport, he developed a wide QRS complex rhythm at 65 beats/min (Figure 1B), followed by episodes of ventricular fibrillation, which terminated with direct current shocks. On arrival at the CCU, he was conversant for a short period, but his condition then rapidly deteriorated and he became unconscious. Consecutive ECG recordings demonstrated further widening of the QRS complexes (Figure 1C and D).

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