A Correlative Study of Postmortem , Electrocardiographic , and Spatial Vectorcardiographic

The spatial vectorcardiograms (sVCG) and electrocardiogramns were studied with respect to the gross and microscopic data in 59 instances of myocardial infarction. Besides the early abnormalities in the QRS sf-loop frequently associated with the electrocardiographic Q of infarction, there were recognizable alterations in the sVCG associated with the anatomic location of the infaretion: lateral wall infarets shortened vectors in iiid-QRS sfi-loop, and posterior lateral basal infarction altered the terminal portion distinctively. The myocardial lesions included fresh infarets, solid scars, scattered fibrosis, and scar with interwoven intact muscle fibers. Where many normal-appearing fibers were present in the lesion, the previously recorded ECG or sVCG frequently failed to show the diagnostic signs of infaretion. However, by presenting the depolarization complex in greater detail, the sVCG supplemented the ECG, improving the accuracy of diagnosis of infarction, especially among the smaller, less solid lesions.