EKG Reads Normal Sinus Rhythm, Possible Left Atrial Enlargement, Septal Infarct. How Common Is This? Solution?

Posted on Wed, 10 Jul 2013

Question: Today I was at a follow-up visit with my doc, and he said my EKG from a month ago was abnormal. It reads "normal sinus rhythm, possible left atrial enlargement, septal infarct - age undetermined, abnormal ECG." Can you please tell me what all that means. I am 51 yo female, have never had any heart issues that I'm aware of, exercise regularly, smoke, no drinking, take Hydrocodone for back problems, not obese, not diabetic, no health issues that I know of. My LDL is 119, HDL is 44, and Cholesterol is 186, with 114 Triglycerides. All bloodwork is normal, but my Glucose was 118 on the same day as the EKG.

The doc has me scared to death that I am going to kill over from a heart attack! I read online that a lot of the EKG's say "septal infarct" and most of the time it's from improper lead placement. How common is this and is this most likely the case in my situation?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Basheer Ahamed (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thanks for your query.

Your EKG shows enlargement of one of the chambers of the left side of the heart and a cardiac ischemia present on the structure separating the right and left side of the heart(Septal infarct).
The age of the infarct whether it is recent or old is not mentioned.

As you have rightly mentioned, your EKG may have been falsely interpreted due to various reasons like error in recording. And since you don't have any predisposing conditions and are free of symptoms, at this juncture you may confirm the findings by
1. Repeating the EKG and see if is consistent will the old EKG finding.
2. Performing an Echocardiogram for confirmation.
3. Taking a second opinion with a cardiologist.

If I were you, I would choose the second or third option.

Hope the answer helps you. Pleased to answer other queries.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad