ECG

1
ECG

• a very brief introduction

2
The letters E C G stand for ELECTRO ie, its
electrical CARDIO ie its to do with the
heart GRAM ie, its a diagram.
3
The patient is wired up with electrodes
4
Usually several lots on the chest, also some on
arms and legs.
5
Clever electronics are involved to combine the
signals from the electrodes.
6
The result has more information than a simple
pulse but it takes a LOT of experience to
interpret it.
7
Each different thing that could go wrong with the
heart makes a characteristic subtle change to the
shape of the ECG trace.
You can tell if the patients heart has a dodgy
valve, or if one of the chambers is weak, of if
the timing mechanism is faulty.
8
If the graph is a straight line, that shows that
the patient is dead.
9
Other sorts of imaging
MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging Too
complicated to explain, but it is non invasive,
harmless and conveys LOTS of information. It is
rather expensive. CAT - Computer Aided
Tomography Much the same as above, but generally
used with X-Rays.
10
You must remember this ...

• X-Rays are quick and easy, used to examine bones
  broken or dislocated.
• Ultrasound is harmless and can be used to look at
  babies inside the womb.
• ECG is used to diagnose heart problems.