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Challenges in Clinical Electrocardiography
June 21, 2022

Carotid Sinus Massage Is the Message

Author Affiliations
  • 1OSF Cardiovascular Institute, Peoria, Illinois
JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182(8):872-873. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.2078

A hospitalized patient in their 80s became tachycardic. The patient initially presented with changes in mental status and generalized weakness, which were attributed to urinary tract infection. An electrocardiogram (ECG) showed a narrow-complex tachycardia with nonspecific ST-T wave changes (Figure, A). The patient was asymptomatic and denied having palpitations, chest pain, and shortness of breath; blood pressure was normal. The patient had a remote history of coronary artery disease. A left carotid sinus massage (CSM) was performed at the bedside (Figure, B).

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