Keeping your child healthy is a big job! Read all about common childhood aches, pains, and illnesses, plus how to take care of your child's body from teeth to toes.
Return
Electrocardiography (EKG) measures the The number of waves per minute on the graph is the heart rate. The distances between these waves is the heart rhythm. The shapes of the waves show how well the heart's electrical impulses are working, the size of the heart, and how well the individual components of the heart are working together. The consistency of the waves provides relatively specific information about any heart damage present. A person's heartbeat should be consistent and even. EKGs look for abnormally slow and fast heart rates, abnormal rhythm patterns, conduction blocks — short-circuits of the heart's electrical impulses that cause inconsistencies in rhythm between the upper (atrium) and lower (ventricle) areas of the heart) — and four types of heart damage: ventricular hypertrophy — an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle ischemia — caused by an abnormally decreased thallium scans (which are kind of like X-rays and use a radioactive tracer, injected into the bloodstream, to help draw a picture of the heart).
A person's heartbeat should be consistent and even. EKGs look for abnormally slow and fast heart rates, abnormal rhythm patterns, conduction blocks — short-circuits of the heart's electrical impulses that cause inconsistencies in rhythm between the upper (atrium) and lower (ventricle) areas of the heart) — and four types of heart damage:
In the past, the EKG was recorded on a machine that drew on long strips of paper, with records from each electrode presented in a standard sequence. Now the EKG tracings are stored as computer files that can be called up and printed.
Results of the EKG are available immediately. In fact, the EKG machine's computer even provides an instant interpretation of the findings as it makes the report. However, your child's physician may also ask an expert, usually a cardiologist, to help analyze and interpret the EKG. Reference ranges for heart rate and the relative lengths and sizes of the various components of the heartbeat figures vary, and diagnostic differences may be subtle, requiring an expert eye to detect them.
Reviewed by: Frederick A. Meier, MD
216-844-8447 216-844-Rainbow Appointments 216-844-3911 Patient Info
11100 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106