A 51-year-old man is brought to the emergency room with chest discomfort that began 30 minutes before his arrival. His chest pain is accompanied by shortness of breath and nausea. When the patient's symptoms began, he was clearing snow off his driveway. He has a history of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. The first ECG demonstrates ST elevation in leads I and aVL. Cardiac enzymes are high. In this patient, an urgent cardiac catheterization will most likely reveal obstruction of which of the following arteries?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Leads I and aVL correspond to the lateral limb leads on ECG.  Therefore, ST elevation or Q waves in these leads are indicative of infarction involving the lateral aspect of the left ventricle, which is supplied by the left circumflex artery.

A 51-Year-Old Man Is Brought to the Emergency Room with Chest