The South African Flag Sign: An Electrocardiographic Flag for All Coronary Territories?

J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2023 Jan-Dec:11:23247096231192861. doi: 10.1177/23247096231192861.

Abstract

The South African flag sign (SAFS) is an acute, dynamic electrocardiographic (ECG) finding typically associated with first diagonal (D1) artery occlusion. We report the case of a 47-year-old woman who exhibited this pattern but subsequently revealed the dreaded "widow-maker" lesion (100% occluded proximal left anterior descending [LAD] artery) and severe multivessel disease (90% stenosis of the posterior left ventricular [PLV] artery and 80% stenosis of the left circumflex artery [LCx]).

Keywords: ST-segment acute coronary syndrome (STE-ACS); South African flag sign (SAFS); myocardial infarction (MI); proximal left anterior descending (LAD) stenosis; “widow-maker,” multivessel coronary artery disease (MVD).

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Constriction, Pathologic
  • Electrocardiography*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • South Africa