Electrocardiography
ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement ---------- 1 Table of Contents ---------- 2 Introduction ---------- 3 Fundamentals of ECG a. Definition of Terms ---------- 4 b. Anatomy and Physiology Review ---------- 6 c. The Machine and Equipments ---------- 8 d. Waveforms ---------- 10 Purpose ---------- 11 Indications ---------- 12 Contraindications ---------- 13 Interfering factors ---------- 13 Normal Findings ---------- 13 Procedure ---------- 14 Nursing Care a. Before Test ---------- 16 b. During Test ---------- 17 c. After Test ---------- 18 d. Health Education ---------- 18 e. Special Consideration ---------- 19 Complication ---------- 20 Case Interpretations ---------- 20 Bibliography ---------- 30 Figures/ Attachment ---------- 32
INTRODUCTION
The heart beats to fast, heart rate increases. The heart beats sluggishly, heart rate decreases. However, in the process of how the heart beats, more specific problem is differentially diagnosed. To be able to view the actual electrical conduction and heart contraction process that may lead us to the specific problem of the patient, a machine that reflect the electrical functioning of the heart is needed. That is why the electrocardiogram or ECG (others, EKG) existed. An Electrocardiograph is basically a voltmeter that records, from the body surface, the uncanceled voltage gradients created as myocardial cells sequentially depolarize and repolarize (Runge et. al.: 2010). It simply measures and averages the difference between the electrical potential of electrode sites for each lead and graph them over time, creating the started ECG complex, called PQRST (Nurse’s Quick Check: 2006). It is noninvasive, virtually risk free, and relatively inexpensive. It uses 10 electrodes to measure electrical potential from 12 different leads. Variations of
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgement ---------- 1 Table of Contents ---------- 2 Introduction ---------- 3 Fundamentals of ECG a. Definition of Terms ---------- 4 b. Anatomy and Physiology Review ---------- 6 c. The Machine and Equipments ---------- 8 d. Waveforms ---------- 10 Purpose ---------- 11 Indications ---------- 12 Contraindications ---------- 13 Interfering factors ---------- 13 Normal Findings ---------- 13 Procedure ---------- 14 Nursing Care a. Before Test ---------- 16 b. During Test ---------- 17 c. After Test ---------- 18 d. Health Education ---------- 18 e. Special Consideration ---------- 19 Complication ---------- 20 Case Interpretations ---------- 20 Bibliography ---------- 30 Figures/ Attachment ---------- 32
INTRODUCTION
The heart beats to fast, heart rate increases. The heart beats sluggishly, heart rate decreases. However, in the process of how the heart beats, more specific problem is differentially diagnosed. To be able to view the actual electrical conduction and heart contraction process that may lead us to the specific problem of the patient, a machine that reflect the electrical functioning of the heart is needed. That is why the electrocardiogram or ECG (others, EKG) existed. An Electrocardiograph is basically a voltmeter that records, from the body surface, the uncanceled voltage gradients created as myocardial cells sequentially depolarize and repolarize (Runge et. al.: 2010). It simply measures and averages the difference between the electrical potential of electrode sites for each lead and graph them over time, creating the started ECG complex, called PQRST (Nurse’s Quick Check: 2006). It is noninvasive, virtually risk free, and relatively inexpensive. It uses 10 electrodes to measure electrical potential from 12 different leads. Variations of