Qwaves and atrioventricular (AV) issues and cor pulmonale, oh my.

All three can be pitfalls while reading the findings of electrocardiography (ECG), yet emergency physicians are expected to not misread them as precursors to serious pathology. However, veteran emergency physician Jerry Jones, MD, FACEP, said a lack of training can lead to misdiagnoses.

“It’s really not difficult to understand what causes problems in interpreting the ECG in terms of properly evaluating what’s happening in Lead III, understanding AV dissociation, or recognizing acute cor pulmonale,” said Dr. Jones, founder of Medicus of Houston. “It’s a matter of looking for abnormalities when you’re perhaps expecting an abnormality to jump out at you from the ECG. They aren’t going to do that! You need to look for them and you need to understand exactly what you’re looking for. They’re not hard to find, you just need to be able to recognize them when you do see them.”

“It’s a very important area that needs to be understood by the physician so that a really unfortunate mistake doesn’t occur.” —Dr. Jones

Dr. Jones will discuss the issue during a rapid-fire session, “Mastering Three Problems that Can Kill in Emergency Electrocardiography: An Advanced Approach.” He will focus on Q waves and negative complexes in Lead III; recognizing the difference between AV dissociation and third-degree AV block; and the manifestations of acute and chronic cor pulmonale.

“It’s a very important area that needs to be understood by the physician so that a really unfortunate mistake doesn’t occur,” he said.

Dr. Jones

Rapid Fire: Mastering Three Problems that Can Kill in Emergency Electrocardiography: An Advanced Approach
Sunday, Oct. 16
12:30–12:55 p.m.
Mandalay Bay Ballroom D