What does ST elevation of an ECG of a patient who has recently suffered a heart attack indicate?
The ST elevation, like any ECG abnormality, is an indication of and alteration to either the electrical activities in cardiac muscle cells and/or the normal progression of electrical signals in the heart, (the heart muscle cells are all electrically connected together, and there are nerves running through the heart – they are called Purkinje fibres). The sign ST elevation on an ECG is consistent with changes in conduction and cellular activity due to lack of nutrients and oxygen to the cells – therefore it indicates a poor/absent blood supply to a given region of heart muscle (therefore that heart muscle damage is either likely, or is actively occuring) ST elevation isn’t actually the most reliable sign of damage to heart muscle. A better sign is wide and/or deep Q-waves on an ECG. Q-waves can take 24hrs to develop following a myocardial infarction (or “heart attack”), and so, if we were to wait for Q-waves, then it may be a little late to treat a heart attack. So, actually, heart atta
