Right Atrial Enlargement
Let’s talk about right atrial enlargement (RAE).
RAE is characterized electrocardiographically by a P wave in which the duration is unaffected, but the morphology is tall or peaked.
Criteria
- P waves >2.5 mm in two contiguous leads of inferior area (II, III and aVF) and/or P waves >1.5 mm in V1 or V2 with normal duration.
Note the peacked P waves with an amplitude >2.5 mm.
Possible causes:
- Pulmonary embolism
- COPD
- Congenital heart disease
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Normal variant
- Others
NOTE: EKG has poor diagnostic sensitivity for chamber enlargement, therefore an echocardiogram is necessary.
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