Key result
Pregnancy can cause electrical alternans on electrocardiography due to excessive respiratory movements by intercostal and accessory muscles, mimicking conditions like pericardial effusion.
Case Report (n=1)
Pregnancy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of electrical alternans on electrocardiography due to excessive respiratory movements.
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Consider pregnancy in respiratory-synchronous electrical alternans differentials; single case leaves open prospective validation.
Electrical alternans is a phenomenon defined as an alternating amplitude or axis of the QRS complexes, ST segment, P or T waves in electrocardiography. It is most commonly associated with a large pericardial effusions causing cardiac tamponade; however, a variety of other clinical scenarios including cardiomyopathies, myocardial ischemia, atriovantricular re-entrant tachycardia, large pleural effusion has been associated with electrical alternans. Here, first in the literature, we present a young patient with term pregnancy who was admitted with electrical alternans in electrocardiography due to excessive respiratory movements mainly by the intercostal and accessory muscles.
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Kalçık et al. (2018) conducted a case report in Electrical alternans (n=1). Pregnancy (excessive respiratory movements) was evaluated on Presence of electrical alternans on electrocardiography. Pregnancy can cause electrical alternans on electrocardiography due to excessive respiratory movements by intercostal and accessory muscles, mimicking conditions like pericardial effusion.
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