Simultaneous Occlusions in LAD and Diagonal
This ECG was obtained from a 35-year-old man who was complaining of crushing substernal chest pain which radiated down his left arm for the last ten minutes. He was diaphoretic, and described his pain as a “10” on the 1-10 scale. He got only modest relief from IV fentanyl.
He was transported to a full-service cardiac hospital, where he underwent angioplasty of simultaneous 100% occlusions of his proximal left anterior descending artery and diagonal artery. He was noted to have apical akinesia with a 35% ejection fraction.
He continued to improve following angioplasty, and was discharged home with an external defibrillator vest.
The ECG shows ST elevation in V2, V4, V5, and V6, which makes us suspect that the V2 and V3 wires were switched accidentally. This reflects damage in the anterior wall of the LV. There is also very marked ST elevation in I and aVL, reflecting damage in the high lateral wall. There is reciprocal ST depression in the inferior leads aVF and III. Fortunately, there are no pathological Q waves, which would indicate permanent damage from necrosis of the myocardium.
You can see films from his procedure in Heart Art, labeled “Simultaneous Occlusive Lesions in LAD and Diagonal”.