Unknown things about ECG

ECG is often used to detect abnormalities of heart rate and find the cause of chest pain.

What is an electrocardiogram?

Electrocardiogram (ECG) records the electrical activity of the heart. The heart creates small electrical impulses that travel to the heart muscle to perform heart contractions. These electrical impulses can be recorded by an electrocardiogram. You can measure an electrocardiogram to help find the cause of symptoms such as palpitations or chest pain. Sometimes an electrocardiogram is performed as part of a routine test like a preoperative test.

ECG is painless and harmless. The electrocardiogram records the electrical impulses emitted from your body and does not put any electricity into your body.

ECG is painless and harmless.

How is an electrocardiogram done?

Your arms, legs and chest will be covered with tiny metal electrodes. The wire will connect these electrodes to the ECG. The machine detects and amplifies the electrical impulses that occur at each heartbeat and writes them to a sheet of paper or computer. The heartbeat is recorded from different electrodes. This test only takes about 5 minutes to perform.

What will the electrocardiogram show?

Electrodes on different parts of the body detect electrical impulses coming from different directions in the heart. Each electrode has its normal waveforms. The disorder of the heart will produce abnormal waveforms. Cardiac abnormalities can be detected including:

1. Arrhythmias, such as heart rate are very fast, very slow, or irregular. There are many different types of arrhythmias with specific ECG patterns.
2. A heart attack (myocardial infarction) , which has just happened or has happened before. Myocardial infarction damages the heart muscle and leaves a scar. These lesions of the heart can be detected by abnormal electrocardiograms.
3. Big heart (big heart) . Basically, this disease produces larger impulses than normal.

Limitations of ECG

A normal electrocardiogram cannot rule out serious heart conditions.

ECG is a simple and valuable test. Sometimes it can definitely diagnose a heart disease. However, a normal electrocardiogram cannot rule out serious heart conditions. For example, you have an abnormal heart rhythm that appears and disappears, and the recorded results may be normal between these irregular rhythms. In addition, not all heart attacks can be detected by an electrocardiogram. A common heart disease such as angina can not be detected by routine electrocardiography.

Specialized electrocardiograms sometimes help overcome some of the limitations of routine ECG.

For example:

1. Effort center. This electrocardiogram is done when you are struggling (running on a rolling carpet or cycling). This helps assess the severity of the blockage of coronary arteries causing angina.
2. Mobile electrocardiogram . You will bring a small machine, it continuously records your heart rate. This method will record your ECG activity while you are walking (traveling) and performing normal daily activities. It aims to detect abnormal heart rhythms that may appear and disappear. Electrical activity is usually recorded in 24-48 hours.