Category Archives: Diagnostic Tests For Heart Diseases

What Is An Electrocardiogram (Electrocardiography, ECG)

What Is An Electrocardiogram ? Electrocardiogram also known as ECG is one of the simplest, painless and quickest procedures which the doctors use to amplify the electrical impulses of the heart on a piece of paper. The information recorded while performing the electrocardiogram or ECG provides the doctors with details about each and every part of the heart that triggers the heartbeat. It also provides the doctors with information about the different pathways for nerve conduction in the heart as well as the rhythm and rate of the heart.

Usually the doctors perform the electrocardiography in case they suspect that the patient is suffering from any cardiac disorder. However electrocardiography is commonly prescribed by doctors as a part of normal and regular physical examination for aged people as well as middle-aged people. It is prescribed by the doctors as a screening measure even if the patient has not shown any evidence of cardiac disorder.

To obtain the electrocardiography, electrodes are placed on the chest of the patient by the examiner. The electrodes are nothing but small sensors that are round in shape and are stuck to the skin of the patient. Often the sensors are also attached to the legs and arms of the patient apart from the chest of the patient. The sensors are used to measure the direction as well as the magnitude of the electrical currents produced in the heart during every heartbeat. The electrodes or sensors are usually connected to a machine by a network of wires and the machine produces the tracing recorded by every sensor or electrode. Every tracing recorded by the electrode provides information about the electrical activity in the heart during every heartbeat. The tracing also provides information in different angles about the electrical activity during each heartbeat. The electrocardiography takes about 4 to 5 min to complete and is one of the simplest and low-risk diagnostic procedures used by doctors and is also completely painless.

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