Assessment of the ST segment deviation area as a potential physiological marker of the acute myocardial infarction

The purpose of this article is to present the assessment of the ST segment deviation area as a feature estimated from electrocardiographic signals to improve the current quantitative measures, which have low correlation with standard measures, such as biomarkers. In total 20 subjects were involved in the study. They were classified into two distinct groups (anterior and inferior) related to the localization of the acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The area of the ST segment was calculated by using customized software developed in Matlab®. From the analysis of this parameter it may be possible to correlate the ST deviation area with the necrosis risk area on myocardial tissue. The correlation between the ST area estimates were compared with Aldrich score, which uses the height of the J point instead of the area. It was calculated the correlation between the ST area, the Aldrich score and biomarkers of myocardial injury in patients. A Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.58 was estimated when comparing Aldrich score and the biomarkers for inferior AMI. The coefficient was 0.99 when correlating the biomarkers to the ST area. Therefore, this feature is a potential physiological marker of inferior AMI. The possibility of estimating the necrosis extent by means of electrocardiographic analysis allows for the reduction of cost and time since there may be no requirement for additional laboratorial exams, consequently improving the treatment efficacy and the prognosis of patients affected by acute myocardial infarction.