ECG interpretation

[Ladypaula]

Hi all I wondered if anyone can help .I saw my cardiologist on Wed and my ECG tracing showed I was in atrial flutter which I already knew as i am always very symptomatic.I am on the waiting list for ablation no3.He let me take my ECG tracing away with me and it wasn't until I got home that I saw printed out on the report that it said marked ST abnormality possible subendocardial injury would anyone be able to enlighten me as to what this means thank you 😁

[CDreamer]

Medical Definition of subendocardial

: situated or occurring beneath the endocardium or between the endocardium and myocardium

ST refers to part of the peak wave you see on the trace, which can happen with arrythmias.

You will need to ask your cardiologist what this means for you. If you are at all anxious contact your GP but remember if there had been any cause for immediate concern they would have whisked you to straight to a specialist.

Best wishes CD

[Ladypaula in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for your reply CDreamer I was cross with myself that I didn't notice it at the time then I could have asked what it meant.After my last ablation I had a small pericardial effusion and imflammatory pericarditis and it took me a long time to recover from it so I wondered if that was the cause of it .

[Hidden]

I don’t know Ladypaula, but ECG’s are very complex and therefore difficult to interpret so I think you should seek professional advice. To put that into context, my wife was told that her ECG showed certain abnormalities and because of my issues, it caused a fair degree of concern. However, after seeing a cardiologist, she was assured that the abnormality was not unusual and was nothing to worry about and of course, we hope it stays that way.

[Ladypaula in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your reply Flapjack I think like CDreamer replied if it was anything they were concerned about they would have whisked me off to see a specialist .Glad your wife's ECG turned out not to be a worry.I do fret a bit and with being back on the list for my 3rd ablation I was not exactly worried but concerned with what it stated on my ECG printout .

[radagast58]

A lot of ECG Machines do an automated provisional diagnosis that are not always reliable. I think the machine has misinterpreted atrial flutter as ST abnormality and as others have indicated it is inconceivable that a cardiologist would miss anything sinister on the ECG. If you remain concerned check with the cardiologist or specialist nurse.

[Ladypaula in reply to radagast58]

Thank you radagast58 I have e mailed the specialist arrythmia nurses and attached the ECG report but like you say if it was a cause for concern they would have addressed it while I was seeing the cardiologist .I was cross with myself that I didn't see it on the report while I was there and so could have asked what it meant .

[Ladypaula in reply to radagast58]

The specialist arrythmia nurse has got back to me radagast58 and like you said she says the ecg machine has misinterpreted it wrongly because of the atrial flutter and that it is wrong regarding the ST abnormality so that is good to know .Thank you for the advice 😁

[radagast58]

A lot of ECG Technicians switch off auto diagnosis precisely for this reason. I am very happy to be right as ST abnormality possibly indicative of subendocardial injury generally indicates partial thickness heart attack. I'm so glad its nothing to worry about. Please take care

David

[Ladypaula in reply to radagast58]

I am so glad too that it was a misdiagnosis by the machine.I hadn't been feeling my best and was worrying that it was something else other than the atrial flutter but I think I have just had quite a few runs of the flutter lately that have been making me feel quite unwell .Thank you David for your best wishes 😁

[radagast58]

Atrial flutter is horrible. I had a successful ablation in 2007 and no episodes since. I have other multiple cardiac problems which is why Im still on here but success rate of ablation for atrial flutter is very high so good luck!

[Ladypaula in reply to radagast58]

I had my 1st ablation for paroximol atrial flutter in Oct 2018 but during the ablation they discovered I also had atrial fibrillation so I had a 2nd ablation in January this year for the fibrillation and retouch the flutter.i had a small pericardial effusion and inflammatory pericarditis after this 2nd ablation and it took me a long while to recover from it.It never really totally eliminated it but was better and then it has reappeared and I am getting more and more episodes hence been listed now for a 3rd ablation so I am hoping that this will be 3rd time lucky for me !!