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Pseudo‐QT Prolongation, Artifactual Electrocardiographic Patterns Produced by Transduction of Cardiovascular Motion
Author(s) -
STEWART WILLIAM J.,
LEVINE PAUL A.,
SCHICK EDGAR C.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1983.tb04416.x
Subject(s) - medicine , electrocardiography , impulse (physics) , t wave , cardiology , qrs complex , electrode , qt interval , prolongation , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Four cases are presented in which focal electrocardiographic artifacts mimicked QT segmenl prolongation with giant T and U waves. Displacement of the recording electrode by a subjacent cardiovascular impulse was the cause of this distortion. The artifacts could be reproduced at the bedside by in ten tional changes in patient posture and electrode slability. Phasic variation in electrode contact with the electrolyte gel and skin, or intermittent contact between the heart and chest wall, causes shifts in the electrical properties of the recording system which may distort the recorded waveforms during the repolarizalion phase of the electrocardiogram.