Open AccessThe relationship of low voltage on the electrocardiogram and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Author(s) -
Sorbello A.,
Giudice J. C.,
Papa L.A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.4960051207
Subject(s) - medicine , pulmonary disease , incidence (geometry) , cardiology , pulmonary function testing , airway obstruction , electrocardiography , retrospective cohort study , airway , surgery , physics , optics
A retrospective analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between low voltage on the electrocardiogram and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Subjects were 250 patients who had both pulmonary function tests and an electrocardiogram at UMDNJ‐John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital from the years 1975–1980. Low voltage was detected in only 13 of 250 patients. An attempt to define the relationship between the incidence of low voltage on the electrocardiogram and the severity of airway obstruction, as judged by the reduction in the FEV 1 , was unsuccessful. Concomitantly, a relationship could not be established between the incidence of low voltage and the degree of hyperinflation, as judged by the residual volume. In conclusion, the electrocardiographic evidence of low voltage does not represent either a sensitive or a specific finding for patients with chronic obstructive lung disease. It cannot be construed as either a useful or predictive parameter in the diagnostic evaluation of these patients.