- Rate
- 80/min
- Rhythm
- RegularSinus: upright in II, biphasic in V1, one before every QRS
- PR
- 0.12 s
- QRS
- 0.09 s, narrow
- Axis
- 152°, right axis deviation
- QTc
- 0.38 s
- ST up
- None
- ST down
- None
- T inverted
- I, aVL
- Also
- Inverted P wave in lead I · Tall, narrow, peaked T waves across V2-V4
Limb lead reversal (left and right arm swapped) on a 12-lead ECG
Lead I is upside down all the way through (inverted P, QRS and T), aVR looks upright, and the chest leads are normal: the arm electrodes are on the wrong arms.
What to look for
Swap the left and right arm electrodes and lead I flips upside down: P, QRS and T all inverted. II and III trade places, aVR and aVL trade places, and aVR can look upright. The chest leads don't use the arm electrodes the same way, so they look normal, with the R wave growing across V1-V6. That normal R progression is what separates it from dextrocardia. You placed the electrodes, so this one is yours to catch: fix them and repeat the 12-lead before anyone reads it as disease.
Examples
Each is a standard 12-lead: 2.5 seconds of each lead in four columns, with 10 seconds of lead II along the bottom, drawn to scale (25 mm a second, 10 mm a millivolt). The measurements are under each one.
- Rate
- 71/min
- Rhythm
- RegularSinus: upright in II, biphasic in V1, one before every QRS
- PR
- 0.16 s
- QRS
- 0.09 s, narrow
- Axis
- 156°, right axis deviation
- QTc
- 0.41 s
- ST up
- None
- ST down
- None
- T inverted
- I, aVL
- Also
- Inverted P wave in lead I
Don't confuse it with
- Right axis deviation
A QRS axis beyond +90°: lead I negative, aVF positive.
- Sodium-channel blocker toxicity (tricyclic overdose)
Sinus tachycardia with a QRS over 100 ms and a tall terminal R in aVR (over 3 mm, or R/S over 0.7): the end of the QRS swings right.
- Lateral STEMI
ST elevation in I, aVL, V5 and V6, with reciprocal depression in III and aVF.
- Normal 12-lead ECG
Sinus rhythm, a normal axis, normal intervals, R waves growing from V1 to V5, and no ST elevation or depression.
The ECG tool in the app gives you a new 12-lead every time and walks you through reading it: rate, QRS, axis, then where the ST is up and down. It's part of the Paramedic level, and you can try 5 ECGs a day free.
Try the 12-lead drillWhere the criteria come from
Others in the look-alikes and other findings group
- Diffuse ST depression with ST elevation in aVR
- Acute pericarditis
- Benign early repolarization
- Old inferior MI (pathological Q waves)
- Left ventricular aneurysm (old anterior MI)
- Left ventricular hypertrophy with strain
- Right ventricular hypertrophy
- Pulmonary embolism (acute right heart strain)
- All 12-lead practice