I had an official STEMI patient! I caught it and got to call it in and everything. The pt went to the cath lab and had complete blockage of the Right Coranary Artery. Bunch of stuff was done including thrombolytic removal and stent placement. The pt has an excellent prognosis for recovery. :)
Oh, a STEMI is an ST elevation Myocaridal Infarction. i.e.; a heart attack that shows up on a 12 lead.
Anyway, it was neat to see one and get to help the pt, makes me feel a little less like I'm in over my head (like I feel some days). Especially since a few months ago I had a pt with all the Elevation and Depression of a STEMI but it turned out to be prior damage. The doctors said it was right of me to call it since there was no way for me to know that the 12 lead was normal for the pt (the pt had even told me he had never had heart problems before), but you still feel dumb activating the cath lab. It was nice to call it and be 100% justified, especially since it means the pt gets to the cath lab that much quicker.
Good times
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