Angiographic correlate of post-reperfusion abnormal Q waves

To determine whether post-reperfusion acute Q waves are due to irreversible myocardial necrosis, we studied the relationship between abnormal Q waves and left ventricular regional wall motion in 74 patients who had coronary thrombolysis following acute myocardial infarction. In 48 cases, acute pathologic Q waves appeared on the ECG-recordings after coronary reperfusion (group A), whereas in 26 patients the QRS complex had no or only minimal changes (group B). A control group consisted of 27 patients with unsuccessful thrombolysis. Quantitative left ventricular angiography was performed after coronary thrombolysis and repeated before discharge from the hospital. Regional wall motion of the infarcted area was determined by a system of 48 radii traced from the centroid of the end-diastolic and end-systolic silhouettes. Myocardial akinesis was significantly more extensive in group A than in group B (18 +/- 9% vs. 10 +/- 6%, p less than 0.02). Regional wall motion of the infarcted area improved in both groups at predischarge study (mean radial shortening +5 +/- 6% in group A and +4 +/- 7% in group B). Moreover, regional wall motion was significantly better in group A with respect to the control group (angio score of hypo-akinesis 166 +/- 124 vs. 412 +/- 174, p less than 0.01). In conclusion, post-reperfusion abnormal Q waves 1) are associated with more extensive myocardial damage, 2) do not preclude late recovery of ischemic myocardium, and 3) do not necessarily indicate irreversible transmural necrosis.