ELECTROCARDIOGRAM IN TOXEMIAS OF PREGNANCY

Electrocardiographic patterns suggestive of an acute myocardial infarction of the anterior wall were found in 2 cases in which there was toxemia of pregnancy which resulted in cardiac failure. This unusual and apparently hitherto unreported observation raised the question of the significance of the electrocardiographic abnormalities in toxemia of pregnancy. A survey of our electrocardiographic files disclosed 12 cases of toxemia of pregnancy without eclampsia. Each case had from one to five records consisting of three limb and two or three chest leads. Examination revealed that they fell into three groups. Group 1 consisted of the 2 cases already mentioned, which presented a classic picture of toxemia of pregnancy and resulted in acute left ventricular failure at the time of labor. Group 2 was made up of 4 cases which did not result in cardiac failure but in which nevertheless changes were manifested in the electrocardiogram. Group 3 consisted of