A new approach to simultaneous multiple unipolar and bipolar esophageal electrocardiograms, and the findings in...

A multielectrode catheter for esophageal electrocardiography, using the cardia as point of fixation and reference, was tested in 10 normal adults. The ECG configurations derived from simultaneous multiple unipolar and bipolar leads in normal sinus rhythm are delineated. The bipolar recordings are particularly informative as they demonstrate the separate depolarization of each atrium, the distribution of atrial potentials in the sagittal plane with an obligatory shift in polarity at the midatrial level, and the pattern of left atrial depolarization. No previous report seems to have compiled these distinctive features.