Elevation of T waves on an ECG most commonly indicates which electrolyte abnormality?

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Multiple Choice

Elevation of T waves on an ECG most commonly indicates which electrolyte abnormality?

Explanation:
Tall, peaked T waves on an ECG indicate elevated potassium levels in the blood. Potassium affects how heart muscle cells repolarize. When extracellular potassium rises, the gradient across the cell membrane decreases, and ventricular repolarization occurs more quickly, producing tall, narrow-based T waves. As potassium levels climb higher, other changes can appear, such as lengthened PR intervals and widened QRS complexes, but the prominent early sign is the tall T wave. Hypokalemia, by contrast, tends to flatten T waves and produce U waves; hypocalcemia tends to prolong the QT interval due to longer ventricular repolarization, and hypernatremia does not have a classic, specific T-wave elevation pattern.

Tall, peaked T waves on an ECG indicate elevated potassium levels in the blood. Potassium affects how heart muscle cells repolarize. When extracellular potassium rises, the gradient across the cell membrane decreases, and ventricular repolarization occurs more quickly, producing tall, narrow-based T waves. As potassium levels climb higher, other changes can appear, such as lengthened PR intervals and widened QRS complexes, but the prominent early sign is the tall T wave. Hypokalemia, by contrast, tends to flatten T waves and produce U waves; hypocalcemia tends to prolong the QT interval due to longer ventricular repolarization, and hypernatremia does not have a classic, specific T-wave elevation pattern.

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