Body surface Laplacian mapping of anterior myocardial infarction in man

The recent development of body surface Laplacian mapping has shown increase d capability for resolving multiple epimyocardial electrical events. For th e myocardial infarction (MI) patient, accurate localization of the site and extent of infarct remains a critical issue, and the body surface Laplacian map (BSLM) may serve as a useful tool for this purpose. One hundred and fi fty lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings were taken over the anterolater al chest of five anterior MI patients. After 20-beat averaging of the poten tial ECGs, the Laplacian ECGs were calculated using a finite difference est imation algorithm. BSLMs of the anterior MI patients showed a highly locali zed early negativity overlying the site of infarct, which was determined by echocardiography. Compared to the corresponding body surface potential map s, the BSLMs showed a more localized area of activity corresponding to the anterior infarct site, as judged by echocardiographic interpretation.