There are multiple causes of low QRS voltage on the ECG, and often it is unexplained
and considered to be a normal variant [
[1]
], occurring in 1.4% of individuals free of cardiovascular disease [
[2]
]. Although recently low QRS voltage has been shown to be associated with increased
mortality in the general population [
[2]
], as far as we know a relationship between low QRS voltage and the in-hospital mortality
of acutely ill patients has never been reported. Recently a good correlation has been
reported between weight loss in patients with heart failure and the combined amplitudes
of the QRS complexes of ECG lead I and II [
[3]
]. This prompted us to explore if this simple measure also had any prognostic value
for acutely ill medical patients.Keywords
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References
- Low QRS voltage and its causes.J Electrocardiol. 2008; 41: 498-500
- Risk of mortality in individuals with low QRS voltage and free of cardiovascular disease.Am J Cardiol. 2014; 113: 1514-1517
- ECG leads I and II to evaluate diuresis of patients with congestive heart failure admitted to the hospital via the emergency department.PACE. 2009; 32: 64-71
- National Early Warning Score (NEWS): Standardising the Assessment of Acute Illness Severity in the NHS. Report of a WorkingParty.RCP, Leondon2012: 3
- Superiority of the limb leads over the precordial leads on the 12-lead ECG in monitoring fluctuating fluid overload in a patient with congestive heart failure.J Electrocardiol. 2007; 40: 395-399
Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 07, 2017
Accepted:
March 2,
2017
Received in revised form:
March 1,
2017
Received:
February 26,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
