Left Axis Deviation in Asymptomatic Children

Investigators from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, conducted a retrospective study to identify which children, without known heart disease (HD), who are found to have left axis deviation (LAD) on an ECG, may warrant further cardiac workup. For the study, they reviewed the medical records of patients 1–17 years old in whom an ECG had been obtained at the Mayo Clinic from 2002 to 2014 with LAD noted by a pediatric cardiologist. Children without known HD with LAD noted on ECG, defined as a QRS frontal plane axis ≤0° and ≥90°, were included in the study. The medical records of these patients were further reviewed and data on age, other ECG findings, cardiac physical examination findings, and transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) findings (if obtained) were abstracted.

For the analysis, the investigators first compared characteristics in study …