The Anatomic Basis for High‐Frequency Components in the Electrocardiogram

In a correlative study between selected body-surface potential recordings and anatomic findings, multilead sets of high-fidelity, high-speed records from 128 persons were studied in connection with the results of our detailed postmortem dissections of their hearts. Attention was focused on high-frequency components (notching and slurring of the expanded QRS) as described by Langner.We found that (1) groups with ventricular enlargement without scarring were indistinguishable from groups with infarction on the basis of the number of high-frequency components; (2) both of these groups were clearly distinguishable from normal subjects on this basis alone; and (3) the high-frequency component count in the group with ventricular enlargement showed high negative correlation with age and high positive correlation with right and left ventricular weights.These findings suggest that the appearance of high-frequency components in the vectorcardiogram or electrocardiogram may relate to the struggle between competing generator sites of ventricular enlargement as well as to the classic concept of shattering of the wave of activation on the shoals of infarction.

[1]  High fidelity electrocardiography; further studies including the comparative performance of four different electrocardiographs. , 1953, American heart journal.

[2]  P. Langner,et al.  The Value of High Fidelity Electrocardiography Using the Cathode Ray Oscillograph and an Expanded Time Scale , 1952, Circulation.

[3]  E. Franke,et al.  Study of High Frequency Components in Electrocardiogram by Power Spectrum Analysis , 1962 .

[4]  E. W. Reynolds,et al.  High‐Frequency Components in the Electrocardiogram: A Comparative Study of Normals and Patients with Myocardial Disease , 1967, Circulation.

[5]  A. C. Young,et al.  Frequency Analysis of the Electrocardiogram , 1960, Circulation research.

[6]  Anderson Gj.  High fidelity electrocardiography. , 1967 .

[7]  R. McFee,et al.  An orthogonal lead system for clinical electrocardiography , 1961 .

[8]  G. Burch,et al.  A Study of the Spatial Vectorcardiogram in Subjects with Posterior Myocardial Infarction , 1955, Circulation.

[9]  M. Rothschild,et al.  ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH MYOCARDIAL INVOLVEMENT: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PROGNOSIS , 1917 .

[10]  R. Selvester,et al.  New quantitative vectorcardiographic criteria for the detection of unsuspected myocardial infarction in diabetics. , 1968, American heart journal.

[11]  D. Geselowitz,et al.  Characteristics of the Frequency Spectrum in the Normal Electrocardiogram and in Subjects Following Myocardial Infarction , 1960, Circulation research.

[12]  P. Langner,et al.  Further Studies in High Fidelity Electrocardiography: Myocardial Infarction , 1953, Circulation.

[13]  W. J. Langford.  Statistical Methods , 1959, Nature.

[14]  D. Geselowitz,et al.  Further studies on the first derivative of the electrocardiogram, including instruments available for clinical use. , 1962, American heart journal.

[15]  D. Geselowitz,et al.  High-frequency components in the electrocardiograms of normal subjects and of patients with coronary heart disease. , 1961, American heart journal.

[16]  D. Geselowitz,et al.  First Derivative of the Electrocardiogram , 1962, Circulation research.

[17]  P. Langner,et al.  The relative significance of high-frequency and low-frequency notching in the electrocardiogram. , 1966, American heart journal.

[18]  Hubert V. Pipberger,et al.  Analysis of the Normal and Abnormal Vectorcardiogram in Its Own Reference Frame , 1962, Circulation.