What does it mean if someone had a nonspecific abnormal ECG?

Answer by  patti (29325)

It simply means that the ECG was not normal, but that nothing specific was indicated by the abnormalities. Some abnormalities are indicative of specific problems. Your MIL's were not.

Answer by  benjiross (993)

Certain ECG patterns are abnormal and diagnostic of specific heart diseases. However, there may be some changes in an ECG that are not diagnostic of any particular condition. They are not normal, but not specific. A cardiologist will look at the ECG, patient condition and some tests before he draws a conclusion or simply repeat an ECG after some time.

Answer by  skateycat (124)

Only your doctor can give you the specific reason. In general, as we age, our EKG will also change. Medications can also change the way an EKG looks as well as heart disease. Not only hardening of the coronary arteries, but enlargement of the heart can also cause abnormalities.

Answer by  A36 (629)

This means that changes are not significant enough to definitively indicate a heart problem, but that the person may still have heart problems, or may not.

Answer by  tbird16 (153)

This is usually fairly benign. Means her EKG wasnt completely normal (therefore the abnormal), however it was nonspecific meaning it could have just been an increased or decreased heart rate, longer than normal QT interval, axis deviation, or some other finding that isnt very specific. If there was something specific like a myocardial infarction, it would note that.

Answer by  G12345 (1808)

Typically this means the ST segment or the T wave was not normal in appearance, but did not fit a diagnositic criteria for ischemia and thus the significance is unknown.

Answer by  Marybeth (841)

It does not necessarily mean anything, but the doctor may ask for additional testing if he is concerned. This test on it's own should not be considered a diagnosis.

Answer by  dcbuis85 (267)

These results simply state that there was an abnormality in the ECG but the specific problem is not yet known. In many cases the doctor will want the patient to do the ECG again for comparison or will conduct further testing. This diagnosis by itself is not something to be worried about since it could be just an error.