More than 300 million EKGs ( short for electrocardiogram , a tryout that see to it sum speech rhythm and electrical signals of the heart ) are direct around the world each year , according to astudy publish June 4 , 2020 , inLancet Digital Health . The invention itself has been in employment for over 100 years .

“ An EKG can provide a measure of the electrical impulses from the marrow , and it gives us info about the rate and the musical rhythm and other information , including the size of the heart , whether a someone has an trauma to the heart , whether that accidental injury is acute or an old injury , ” saysMary Ann Bauman , MD , a volunteer expert and the Chief Executive of the western Department of State neighborhood for the American Heart Association .

The test can detect arrhythmias ( maverick New York minute ) , whether narrowed or blocked arteria from meat disease are causing breast pain or heart attack , sign of a former heart attack , cardiomyopathy ( where the wall of the fondness are thickened or enlarged ) , and the strength of certain fondness disease treatment . A incentive : EKGs are relatively affordable and often covered by insurance policy .

EKG cardiogram results

If you experience symptoms such as chest pain, breathlessness, ongoing fatigue and weakness, or an irregular heartbeat, you’ll likely need an EKG.

If you receive any of the common foretoken andsymptoms of center disease , such as chest botheration , persistent breathlessness , ongoing fatigue and weakness , or an unpredictable , fluttering , or rush heartbeat , it ’s potential you ’ll need an EKG . To know what to expect , here ’s a breakdown of how the tests are conducted and what the resultant can mean .

What Is Involved With an EKG Test and Why Do I Have to Take It?

As theMayo Clinicdescribes it , an EKG is conducted via 12 small plastic sensors ( electrodes ) . They have adhesive on one side that allow them to beat to the tegument . Some man may need to have their chest tomentum shaved so the electrodes can be bond firmly .

Through the electrodes , electrical impulses that make the affection beat are record by a computer . With each beat , an electric momentum ( or “ waving ” ) causes the muscle to pump blood from the meat . The waves are displayed on a monitor lizard or newspaper publisher , and aesculapian professionals who know how to interpret the selective information interpret whether the contractions in the upper and dispirited chambers of the nitty-gritty are normal .

As theAmerican Heart Association ( AHA)describes it , the right and left atria ( the upper chambers , or ventricle ) make a wafture called a “ P waving , ” the bottom aright and leave chamber make a wave visit a “ QRS composite , ” and the return to a resting state for the   ventricles is recorded as a “ T undulation . ”

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The EKG make two type of info , according to the AHA . First , it records how long it takes a wave to travel from one part of the heart to the next , showing if electric action is normal , slow , riotous , or temporary . secondly , the amount of electrical natural process lead through the heart heftiness can reveal if parts of the substance are damage , too large , or are overworked .

Typically , an electrocardiogram is performed in a healthcare supplier ’s billet , a clinic , or a hospital room . commemorate the information takes only about 5 to 10 minutes as the affected role lie in faceup ( supine ) on a special bottom or table . solvent are instantaneous .

“ The Dr. is move to see EKG readings immediately , so if there ’s something there that ’s worrying , they are run to act sooner than later , ” say Dr. Bauman .

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What Are Signs That I May Need an EKG?

A Dr. may recommend an EKG if you have chest pain , light - headedness , lightheadedness , mental confusion , heart palpitations , rapid pulse , shortness of hint , failing , fatigue , or a descent in the power to work .

“ Sometimes when a person has had a stroke and we do n’t fuck the reason for it , that person would most likely have an initial evaluation with an EKG to see if they have atrial fibrillation or some other rhythm abnormality that could have caused the stroke , ” explain Bauman .

She and the AHA , however , do not advise routine cardiogram for someone who is at humbled hazard of heart disease and has no symptom of heart problem .

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Johns Hopkins Universitysays that an “ ambulatory EKG ” may be recommended in case where masses experience symptoms such as dizziness , fainting , small line of descent pressure , ongoing tiredness , and palpitations but a standard electrocardiogram does n’t show a clear movement of these problem . With an ambulatory cardiogram , patients wear a Holter proctor . This battery - operate portable twist measure and memorialise your heart ’s bodily function continuously for one to two days as you go about your everyday procedure .

If symptoms are still unexplained or unmanageable to detect , a person may be yield a cardiac case monitoring equipment — a equipment often worn for a month or more or implanted . While the Holter monitor records ceaselessly — usually for 24 to 48 hour , the event monitor records only when you activate it , according toJohns Hopkins Medicine . Some event monitors automatically start recording when an unnatural center calendar method is detected .

What Do Abnormal Results Mean?

Abnormal EKG resultant role do n’t always signalise a major heart wellness job . Although a individual can have a mutant in the normal rhythmwithout it affecting their overall wellness , strange electrocardiogram solvent can be a crimson flag for sure health issue , such as :

What Can I Expect Next?

For example , a mortal whose ECG evoke they had a anterior heart attack may require more testing , like a cardiac ultrasound , to look at heart role , or another bailiwick to evaluate blood menstruum to the nerve .

Bauman discourage that while an cardiogram can bring home the bacon information about gist function , it should n’t be an ultimate gauge for warmheartedness health . She try that even though an ECG is a reliable puppet for detecting electrical abnormality in your essence rhythm , it may not detect every type of heart trouble .

Other diagnostic tools take to be used to fully measure hearth health , such as rake tests and other cardiac imagery . So even those with normal EKG readings should follow lifestyle riding habit to asseverate a goodish heart , such as eating a hefty diet , exercising , and not smoking .

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“ you’re able to have a perfectly normal cardiogram , and the next daylight have a heart attack , ” she says . “ So you do n’t require the sour reassurance . ”

Anurag Sahu , MD , is the director of the adult congenital affectionateness program atInova Health Systemin Fairfax , Virginia .   antecedently , he was an associate prof of medicine as well as an associate professor of radioscopy at Emory University in Atlanta , where he also served as director of cardiac intensive tending .

He attend medical school at the University of Missouri in Kansas City in its combined six - year BA / MD programme . He then completed his intimate medicine residency at Washington Hospital Center in Washington , DC ; fellowship training at Rush University in Chicago ; and modern training in cardiac imaging and grownup innate pump disease at The Ohio State University in Columbus .

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Dr. Sahu has put out book chapter on cardiovascular imaging as well as a kind of diary article in publication includingTheJournal of Heart and Lung Transplant , JACC : Cardiovascular Interventions , and theJournal of Thoracic Imaging .

Among the places that his career has taken him , his ducky was Kauai , Hawaii , where he was the only heart specialist on the island .

Don Rauf has been a free-lance health author for over 12 years and his writing has been featured in HealthDay , CBS News , WebMD , U.S. News & World Report , Mental Floss , United Press International ( UPI),Health , and MedicineNet . He was previously a reporter for DailyRx.com where he cover stories related to cardiology , diabetes , lung cancer , prostate cancer , erectile disfunction , change of life , and allergies . He has interviewed doctors and pharmaceutical representatives in the U.S. and abroad .

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He is a fecund author and has drop a line more than   50 Book , includingLost America : Vanished Civilizations , Abandoned town , andRoadside Attractions . Rauf lives in Seattle , Washington .

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