The J waves
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.
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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