Chapter 11 Pericardial, Myocardial, and Pulmonary Syndromes
A wide variety of major disease processes may affect the ECG. Particularly important are conditions affecting the pericardium (acute pericarditis, pericardial effusion, and chronic constrictive pericarditis), the myocardium itself (not including ischemia and infarction, which are discussed in Chapters 8 and 9), and the lungs (acute pulmonary embolism and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Acute Pericarditis, Pericardial Effusion, and Chronic Constrictive Pericarditis
Acute Pericarditis
As mentioned in Chapter 8, the ECG patterns of pericarditis resemble those seen with acute MI. The early phase of acute pericarditis is usually characterized by ST segment elevations. This type of current of injury pattern results from inflammation of the heart’s surface (epicardium), which often accompanies inflammation of the overlying pericardium (Fig. 11-1).
The similarity between the ECG patterns of acute pericarditis and acute MI has been emphasized because both conditions may produce ST segment elevations followed by T wave inversions. As noted, however, the ST-T changes with pericarditis tend to be more diffuse than the localized changes of MI. Another major difference is that pericarditis does not produce abnormal Q waves, such as those seen with certain infarcts. With MI, abnormal Q waves occur because of the death of heart muscle and the consequent loss of positive depolarization voltages (see Chapter 8). Pericarditis, on the other hand, generally causes only a superficial inflammation and does not produce actual myocardial necrosis. Thus, abnormal Q waves never result from pericarditis alone.