Dr. de Saint Victor (AKA dSV), our local ECG expert, makes use of spaced repetition to help us remember the many causes of ST elevation. As a standing segment of all of his lectures, this topic stood out to us as the perfect first educational post:
Causes ST elevation:
•Usual suspects
-STEMI
-Vasospasm
-Pericarditis/myocarditis
-Benign early repolarization
•Lefties and Righties
-Left bundle branch block
-Left ventricular aneurysm
-Left ventricular hypertrophy
-Pulmonary embolism, right heart strain
•H's
-Hyperkalemia
-Hypercalcemia
-Hypothermia
-Na+ cHannelopathies
•Names
-Brugada syndrome
-Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
•Disasters (Spiked helmet sign*)
-Intracranial abnormalities
-Post-cardioversion/post-epinephrine
-Aortic dissection
-Massive GI bleed
We'll be diving more deeply into each of these diagnoses over the coming months.
Other resources to check out:
"The ST Segment" by E Burns. Life in the Fast Lane: https://litfl.com/st-segment-ecg-library/
References
Littmann L, Monroe MH. The “Spiked Helmet” Sign: A New Electrocardiographic Marker of Critical Illness and High Risk of Death. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2011;86(12):1245-1246. doi:10.4065/mcp.2011.0647