Diabetic patients with myocardial infarction; the diagnostic accuracy of the electrocardiogram.

In a study involving interpretation of electrocardiograms of two groups of patients who had myocardial infarction-one a group of diabetic patients and the other group made up of nondiabetic-the electrocardiogram was found to be considerably less accurate in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in the diabetic patient than in the nondiabetic subject. This is due to the fact that the patterns which mask the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in nondiabetic patients occur more frequently in diabetic individuals. It is important to note that in no instance were the electrocardiograms interpreted as normal in the diabetic group.