Prevalencia de alteraciones electrocardiográficas en pacientes de 35 a 84 años sin antecedentes cardiológicos, sometidos a valoración prequirúrgica atendidos en la consulta externa de cardiología en el Hospital General del Norte de Guayaquil IESS Los Ceibos durante el período 2021 - 2022.

Abstract

The electrocardiogram is characterized as a diagnostic tool that allows us to monitor the activity of cardiac nodal cells responsible for conduction and excitation, heart rate, conduction defects, or the presence of cardiac arrhythmias. It is one of the tests used to assess cardiovascular risk during preoperative assessment. It holds great value in recognizing patterns emitted by the electric field measured by the electrode cables and allows us diagnose any alterations in the patients being attended to. Objective: To determine the prevalence of electrocardiographic alterations in patients between 35 and 84 years of age without cardiological history, submitted to pre-surgical evaluation attended at the Hospital General del Norte de Guayaquil IESS Ceibos during the period 2021 - 2022. Methodology: This prevalence study is descriptive, observational, cross- sectional and retrospective. A universe of 1,970 people was chosen, from which a population of 1,754 and a sample of 316 patients were studied. Data such as sex, age, type of electrocardiographic alterations and risk factors were analyzed, including a history of hypothyroidism, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, body mass index, toxic habits such as smoking or alcoholism, and family history of arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus. Results: Of the 316 patients, 70 had electrocardiographic abnormalities (22.2%) and 246 had no electrocardiographic findings (77.8%). The most frequent age range was 35 to 44 years and 55 to 64 years. The female gender had a higher prevalence with 37 of the 70 patients presenting ECG abnormalities. The most frequent pathology was sinus bradycardia with 35.7% representing 25 of the 70 people studied. The most prevalent risk factor in patients was overweight, 22 patients of those who did present ECG findings and 107 patients of those whose ECG was normal. Conclusions: The prevalence of presenting an altered electrocardiogram despite not having a cardiological history is low, however, the patients who presented ECG alterations had sinus bradycardia as the most common pathology and overweight predominates in the majority of our population.