ST segment elevation following sinoventricular rhythm in a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with insulin dependent diabetes. Myocardial infarction is an uncommon but well-recognised precipitating cause of diabetic ketoacidosis, accounting for 1% of cases. Many diabetic patients with ketoacidosis initially present with hyperkelamia, which may affect the electrocardiographic morphology. We present a patient with diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperkalemia, whose initial electrocardiogram showed a sinoventricular rhythm and subsequently pseudoinfarction pattern. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 497-499