Q waves and coronary arteriography in cardiomyopathy.

This study shows that the Q wave pattern on the electrocardiogram provides insufficient evidence for the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease. Apparent evidence of ischaemic heart disease on the electrocardiogram was misleading in 6 out of zo patients with congestive cardiomyopathy and in 3 of 8 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. With the increasing application of surgical techniques to patients with atheromatous coronary artery disease, coronary arteriography will undoubtedly assume an increasing role in the more precise delineation of these cases.