The J waves

Created by team@ekgdx.com on Dec. 25, 2022

Let’s talk about the J wave.

The J wave is an extra positive deflection between the terminal portion of the QRS and the beginning of ST segment

J wave - EKGDX

Causes

J waves can be seen in the setting of hypothermia, early repolarization, hypercalcemia, brain injury, prinzmetal's variant angina, subarachnoid hemorrhage, others.

Names

The J deflection has been called many names, including: 

✅ Late delta wave
✅ J-point wave
✅ Osborn wave

The prominent J deflection attributed to hypothermia was first reported in: 

✅ 1938 by Tomaszewski
✅ 1940 by Kossmann
✅ 1943 by Grosse-Brockhoff
✅ 1950 by Bigelow et al.
✅ 1952 by Juvenelle et al.
✅ 1953 by Osborn

Over the years, the unusual wave increasingly has been called an Osborn wave, probably because of Osborn’s excellent article written in 1953.

EKG was recorded in a 55 year old male with hypothermia (Courtesy of ACLS Medical Training)

 

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Dr. Roig

J waves