Juvenile ECG pattern in adult black Arabs

A juvenile electrocardiographic (ECG) pattern is compatible with T wave inversion in the precordial leads V1 and V2 or in additional precordial leads to the left of V2. Electrocardiographic studies were performed in 48 Semitic Arabs, including 26 men and 22 women, and in 50 black Arabs (negroid Bedouins), including 22 men and 28 women. The subjects ranged in age from 20 to 46 years. The juvenile ECG pattern was found in 6 of the 28 black Arab women (21%), but it was not detected in the 22 black Arab men or in any Semitic Arabs of either sex. The difference between the two female groups was significant (P < .05). Careful interpretation of ECG recordings in black Arab women is recommended in order to prevent a misdiagnosis of myocardial ischemia or a misreading of T wave inversions related to a previous coronary event.