Does the use of vectorcardiograms improve the diagnosis of perioperative transmural infarction compared to scalar electrocardiograms in patients undergoing aortocoronary saphenous vein bypass surgery?
Vectorcardiograms recorded before and after aortocoronary bypass surgery can facilitate the diagnosis of perioperative infarctions missed by standard electrocardiograms.
Vectorcardiograms and scalar electrocardiograms were recorded in 30 patients before and after aortocoronary saphenous vein bypass surgery to determine whether vectorcardiograms are helpful in making the diagnosis of perioperative transmural infarction. The vectorcardiogram indicated inferior infarction in 2 cases and anterior infarction in 1 case when the diagnosis was not apparent on the electrocardiogram. In the solitary case of anterior infarction diagnosed by the electrocardiogram, anterior infarction was already present on the preoperative vectorcardiogram. The study indicates that the recording of vectorcardiograms before and after aortocoronary bypass surgery facilitates the diagnosis of perioperative anterior and inferior infarction and may reveal perioperative infarction about a previously infarcted area.
McNeill et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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