Non Q Wave MI

Specialties CCU

Published

Ok. So I am gonna pull the "I'm still a bit of a newbie" card. I know what a STEMI is... what is looks like, get them to cath lab right away. But what in the world is a Non Q Wave MI? I've never seen anything change on an EKG with a Q wave that I know. What does it (the Q wave) look like in one of these?

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Specializes in CCU, med/surg (cardiac/tel).

A Q-wave develops several days after a pt has a severe enough MI that it causes cell death. The Q-wave must be at least 1/3 of the height of a QRS to be clinically significant to say that the pt has had an old MI. It usually does not go way. You must see the Q-wave on a 12-lead EKG not just a monitor strip (monitor strips can be deceving). It just means that there has been an old MI. It can help us as health providers better understand when the pt had an MI.

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Thanks for your reply. So it indicates the presences of an OLD MI. Thank you so much!

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There are 2 types of acute MI--transmural and non-transmural. A transmural MI involves the full thickness of the wall of the ventricle--shown as a STEMI on the EKG. A non-transmural MI, or non-Q wave MI, involves only partial thickness of the wall and can be diagnosed with cardiac enzymes. Changes in the EKG won't be evident until the MI evolves, i.e. flipped T waves. If the first set of enzymes is positive the patient may win a trip to the Cath Lab so that potential problems can be averted. If there's one artery blocked there may be others waiting in the wings.

Just my :twocents:

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