Not All Waves Are Factual
Web link: Open online
Zotero link: Open in Zotero
Tags: ECG
Abstract
Notes
Annotations
(8/11/2022, 11:58:06 PM)
Electromechanical association (EMA) artifact
An EMA artifact is a “heart-made” artifact caused by arterial pulsations or precordial pulsations at the site where the limb leads or chest leads are placed. An artifact in the ECG can be classified into heart-made and “non-heart-made.” In heart-made artifacts, the artifactual waves synchronize with the cardiac rhythm. This makes the heartmade artifacts difficult to interpret. In a non–heart-made artifact, the artifactual waves do not synchronize with the cardiac rhythm, and hence these artifactual waves will be separated at some point and can be distinguished easily (Figure 2). The most common sources of non–heart-made artifacts are the limb leads, because there may be limb movements, misplacement of leads, or loose connections.” Go to annotation (Rajendran et al., 2021, p. 752)
“The key learning points are
- EMA artifacts can mimic acute coronary syndrome,
- EMA artifacts are heart-made and hence difficult to recognize as an artifact,
- the clue to diagnosing an EMA artifact is that it almost always spares one of the limb leads, and
- failure to recognize this artifact can lead to unnecessary invasive interventions.” Go to annotation (Rajendran et al., 2021, p. 753)