| EKG (electrocardiogram) tests help physicians | | | | rhythm or contraction patterns between the two |
| determine the health of their patient’s heart, | | | | graphs, it could mean possible heart problems. If |
| by detecting any abnormalities in heart activity. | | | | such a reading occurs, then further testing is |
| People who have a history of heart problems get | | | | usually done to determine more precisely the |
| regular EKG testing, the procedure being an | | | | causes of the heart abnormality. |
| essential part of their regular check-ups. | | | | To conduct such analysis, though, doctors try to |
| EKG’s work by recording and displaying the | | | | first identify recurring patterns in a patient’s |
| heart’s electrical impulses through a series of | | | | EKG readings. The heart rate is what they usually |
| electrodes attached to the patient’s body at | | | | look at first. Heart rate can be determined by |
| strategic points. The results are displayed on a | | | | looking at the patterns of spikes and dips in an |
| computer monitor in the form of a graph and | | | | EKG graph. The first spike is called the “P” |
| then printed out. | | | | spike and it represents the electrical impulses |
| The basic way doctors and EKG technicians | | | | being generated by the heart’s upper |
| analyze an EKG results graph is by comparing it | | | | chamber. A flatter line, the “PR” line, |
| with the results graph of a normal/standard heart. | | | | stands for the time between contractions and |
| If they detect differences in the heart rate, | | | | relaxations of the atria. |