Unstable angina reflect on an ECG?

Unstable angina reflect on an ECG?

• A. True
• B. Only in certain cases
• C. False
• D. It depends on patient age

Answer: (C)

Unstable angina is an ischemic chest pain syndrome where there is no myocardial necrosis. Because there isn’t infarction, the classic pattern seen with an ECG in a heart attack (ST-segment elevation) isn’t present. In reality, the ECG in unstable angina can be normal, or show non-specific changes such as ST-segment depression or T-wave inversions. This means you can’t rely on the ECG alone to diagnose unstable angina, since the ECG may not show definitive signs. Diagnosis hinges on the clinical presentation and serial biomarker testing (troponin) to distinguish unstable angina from NSTEMI. That’s why the statement is false: unstable angina does not consistently reflect on an ECG in a way that would make it easy to identify purely from the ECG.

Unstable angina is an ischemic chest pain syndrome where there is no myocardial necrosis. Because there isn’t infarction, the classic pattern seen with an ECG in a heart attack (ST-segment elevation) isn’t present. In reality, the ECG in unstable angina can be normal, or show non-specific changes such as ST-segment depression or T-wave inversions. This means you can’t rely on the ECG alone to diagnose unstable angina, since the ECG may not show definitive signs. Diagnosis hinges on the clinical presentation and serial biomarker testing (troponin) to distinguish unstable angina from NSTEMI. That’s why the statement is false: unstable angina does not consistently reflect on an ECG in a way that would make it easy to identify purely from the ECG.