Occurrence of “J Waves” in 12‐Lead ECG as a Marker of Acute Ischemia and Their Cellular Basis

The "J wave" (also referred to as "the Osborn wave,""the J deflection," or "the camel's hump") is a distinctive deflection occurring at the QRS-ST junction. In 1953, Dr. John Osborn described the "J wave" as an "injury current" resulting in ventricular fibrillation during experimental hypothermia. Although "J Wave" is supposed to be pathognomonic of hypothermia, it is seen in a host of other conditions such as hypercalcemia, brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cardiopulmonary arrest from over sedation, the Brugada syndrome, vasospastic angina, and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation. However, there is paucity of literature data as regards to ischemic etiology of "J Wave." In this article, we present a case where "J waves" were probably induced by ischemia. We also discuss the mechanism of ischemia-induced "J wave" accentuation and its prognostic implications.