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Updated: May 28, 2025
08:22
In vitro Assessment of Myocardial Protection following Hypothermia-Preconditioning in a Human Cardiac Myocytes Model
Published on: October 27, 2020
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Electrocardiographic patterns of accidental hypothermia
Hisatoshi Okumura1, Nobunaga Okada2, Kunio Hamanaka3
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|February 11, 2025
Summary
Hypothermia affects the heart, with ECG changes like QT prolongation and Osborn waves increasing with severity. Atrial fibrillation was also common in hypothermic patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Accidental hypothermia poses significant cardiovascular risks.
- Existing research on hypothermia and ECG patterns is limited by small sample sizes.
- A comprehensive analysis is needed to understand these associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between hypothermia and electrocardiographic (ECG) patterns.
- To analyze the prevalence and severity-dependent changes in ECG findings in hypothermic patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of the J-POINT registry (April 2011–March 2016).
- Included 463 patients with body temperatures ≤35°C.
- ECG interpretations by blinded specialists and an experienced cardiologist.
Main Results:
- Sinus rhythm (66.7%) and atrial fibrillation (AF) (21.2%) were most common.
- QT prolongation (48.8%) and Osborn waves (53.1%) increased with hypothermia severity.
- Ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia occurred in 2.4% of cases.
Conclusions:
- AF, PR prolongation, QT prolongation, and Osborn waves were present even in mild hypothermia.
- The frequency of these ECG patterns correlated with increasing hypothermia severity.
- These findings highlight the cardiovascular impact of hypothermia on ECG.
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