The heart is the most important organ in the human body. It is often compared to a motor, which is not surprising, because the main function of the heart is the constant pumping of blood in the vessels of our body. The heart works 24 hours a day! But it happens that it does not cope with its functions due to illness. Of course, it is necessary to monitor general he alth, including heart he alth, but in our time this is not possible for everyone and not always.
A bit of history about the appearance of the ECG
Even in the middle of the 19th century, doctors began to think about how to track the work, identify deviations in time and prevent the terrible consequences of the functioning of a sick heart. Already at that time, doctors discovered that electrical phenomena occur in the contracting heart muscle, and began to conduct the first observations and studies on animals. Scientists from Europe began to work on the creation of a special device or a unique technique for monitoring the work of the heart, and finally the world's first electrocardiograph was created. All this time, science has not stood still, thus, and inIn the modern world, this unique and already improved device is used, on which the so-called electrocardiography is performed, it is also called ECG for short. This method of registration of cardiac biocurrents will be discussed in the article.
ECG procedure
Today, this is an absolutely painless and affordable procedure for everyone. An ECG can be done in almost any medical facility. Consult with your family doctor and he will tell you in detail why this procedure is necessary, how to take an ECG and where it can be done in your city.
Short description
Let's look at the steps of how to take an ECG. The algorithm of actions is:
- Preparing the patient for future manipulation. Laying him on the couch, the he alth worker asks him to relax and not strain. Remove all unnecessary items, if any, and may interfere with the recording of the cardiograph. Free from clothing the necessary areas of the skin.
- They start applying electrodes strictly in a certain sequence and sequence of applying electrodes.
- Connect the device to work subject to all the rules.
- After the device is connected and ready for use, start recording.
- Remove the paper with the recorded electrocardiogram of the heart.
- Give the ECG result to the patient or doctor for further interpretation.
Preparing for ECG recording
Before you know how to take an ECG, let's look at whatactions must be taken to prepare the patient.
ECG machine is in every medical institution, it is located in a separate room with a couch for the convenience of the patient and medical staff. The room should be bright and comfortable, with an air temperature of +22 … +24 degrees Celsius. Since it is possible to take an ECG correctly only if the patient is completely calm, such an environment is very important for this manipulation.
The subject is placed on a medical couch. In the supine position, the body easily relaxes, which is important for the future recording of the cardiograph and for assessing the work of the heart itself. Before applying ECG electrodes, a cotton swab moistened with medical alcohol should be treated with the desired areas of the patient's arms and legs. Re-treatment of these places is carried out with a saline solution or a special medical gel designed for this purpose. The patient needs to remain calm during the recording of the cardiograph, breathe evenly, moderately, do not worry.
How to take an ECG: electrode placement
You need to know in what order to apply the electrodes. For the convenience of the personnel performing this manipulation, the inventors of the ECG apparatus defined 4 colors for the electrodes: red, yellow, green and black. They are superimposed in this order and in no other way, otherwise the ECG will not be appropriate. It is simply unacceptable to confuse them. Therefore, the medical staff who work with the ECG device undergo special training, followed by passing an exam and obtaining a permit or certificate,allowing him to work with this device. The medical worker in the ECG room, according to his work instructions, must clearly know the places where the electrodes are applied and correctly follow the sequence.
So, the electrodes for the arms and legs look like large clamps, but don't worry, the clamp is placed on the limb absolutely painlessly, these clamps are of different colors and are applied to certain places of the body as follows:
- Red - right wrist.
- Yellow - left wrist.
- Green - left leg.
- Black - right leg.
Apply chest electrodes
Thoracic electrodes in our time are of different types, it all depends on the manufacturer of the ECG machine itself. They are disposable and reusable. Disposable ones are more convenient to use, do not leave unpleasant traces of irritation on the skin after removal. But if there are no disposable ones, then reusable ones are used, they are similar in shape to hemispheres and tend to stick. This property is necessary for a clear setting exactly in the right place with subsequent fixation at the right time.
A medical worker, who already knows how to take an ECG, is positioned to the right of the patient on the couch in order to correctly apply the electrodes. It is necessary, as already mentioned, to pre-treat the skin of the patient's chest with alcohol, then with saline or medical gel. Each chest electrode is marked. To make it clearer how to take an ECG, an overlay diagramelectrodes is shown below.
Starting to apply electrodes to the chest:
- Find the 4th rib in the patient first and put the first electrode under the rib, on which the number 1 is placed.
- We also put the 2nd electrode under the 4th rib, only on the left side.
- Then we start applying not the 3rd, but immediately the 4th electrode. It overlaps under the 5th rib.
- Electrode number 3 must be placed between the 2nd and 4th ribs.
- 5th electrode is placed on the 5th rib.
- We apply the 6th electrode at the same level as the 5th, but a couple of centimeters closer to the couch.
Before turning on the ECG recording device, we once again check the correctness and reliability of the applied electrodes. Only then can the electrocardiograph be turned on. Before that, you need to set the paper speed and adjust other indicators. During recording, the patient must be in a state of complete rest! When the device is finished, you can remove the paper with the cardiograph record and release the patient.
Recording ECG for children
Since there is no age limit for ECG, children can also take ECG. This procedure is done in the same way as for adults, starting at any age, including the neonatal period (as a rule, at such an early age, an ECG is done solely to eliminate suspicions of heart disease).
The only differencemeanwhile, how to take an ECG for an adult and a child, is that the child needs a special approach, he needs to explain and show everything, to reassure if necessary. The electrodes on the child's body are fixed in the same places as in adults, and must correspond to the age of the child. You have already learned how to apply ECG electrodes to the body. In order not to disturb the little patient, it is important to ensure that the child does not move during the procedure, support him in every possible way and explain everything that happens.
Very often, when prescribing an ECG, pediatricians recommend additional tests for children, with physical activity or with the appointment of a particular drug. These tests are carried out in order to detect deviations in the work of the child's heart in time, correctly diagnose a particular heart disease, prescribe treatment in time, or dispel the fears of parents and doctors.
How to take an ECG. Diagram
In order to read correctly the record on the paper tape, which at the end of the procedure the ECG machine gives us, of course, it is necessary to have a medical education. The record should be carefully studied by a general practitioner or cardiologist in order to timely and accurately establish a diagnosis for the patient. So, what can an incomprehensible curved line, consisting of teeth, separate segments at intervals, tell us about? Let's try to figure it out.
The recording will analyze how regular the contractions of the heart are, reveal the heart rate, the focus of excitation, the conduction capacity of the heartmuscles, the definition of the heart in relation to the axes, the condition of the so-called heart teeth in medicine.
Immediately after reading the cardiogram, an experienced doctor will be able to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment or give the necessary recommendations, which will significantly speed up the recovery process or save you from serious complications, and most importantly, a timely ECG can save a person's life.
It must be taken into account that the ECG of an adult is different from that of a child or a pregnant woman.
Do pregnant women take ECGs
In what cases is a pregnant woman prescribed to undergo an electrocardiogram of the heart? If at the next appointment with an obstetrician-gynecologist the patient complains of chest pain, shortness of breath, large fluctuations in blood pressure control, headaches, fainting, dizziness, then, most likely, an experienced doctor will prescribe this procedure in order to reject bad suspicions in time and avoid unpleasant consequences for the he alth of the expectant mother and her baby. There are no contraindications for an ECG during pregnancy.
Some recommendations before the planned ECG procedure
Before taking an ECG, the patient must be instructed on what conditions must be met the day before and on the day of the removal.
- The day before, it is recommended to avoid nervous overexertion, and the duration of sleep should be at least 8 hours.
- On the day of delivery, you need a small breakfast of food that is easily digestible, a prerequisite is not to overeat.
- Exclude for 1 day products,that affect the functioning of the heart, such as strong coffee or tea, hot spices, alcoholic beverages, and smoking.
- Do not apply creams and lotions on the skin of the hands, feet, chest, the action of fatty acids of which may subsequently impair the conductivity of the medical gel on the skin before applying the electrodes.
- Absolute calmness is required before and during the ECG procedure.
- Be sure to exclude physical activity on the day of the procedure.
- Before the procedure itself, you need to sit quietly for about 15-20 minutes, breathing is calm, even.
If the subject has severe shortness of breath, then he needs to undergo an ECG not lying down, but sitting, because it is in this position of the body that the device can clearly record cardiac arrhythmia.
Cardiologists recommend undergoing the procedure for all people, without exception, after 40 years of age once a year.
Of course, there are conditions in which it is absolutely impossible to conduct an ECG, namely:
- In acute myocardial infarction.
- Unstable angina.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of arrhythmia of unknown etiology.
- Severe forms of aortic stenosis.
- Pulmonary Embolism Syndrome.
- Dissection of an aortic aneurysm.
- Acute inflammatory diseases of the muscles of the heart and pericardial muscles.
- Severe infectious diseases.
- Severe mental illness.
ECG with a mirror arrangement of internalBodies
The mirror arrangement of the internal organs implies their arrangement in a different order, when the heart is not on the left, but on the right. The same applies to other organs. This is a fairly rare occurrence, but it does occur. When a patient with a mirror arrangement of internal organs is assigned to undergo an ECG, he must warn the nurse who will perform this procedure about his peculiarity. For young professionals working with people with a mirror arrangement of internal organs, in this case, the question arises: how to take an ECG? On the right (the removal algorithm is basically the same), the electrodes are placed on the body in the same order that they would be placed on the left in ordinary patients.
Take care of your he alth and the he alth of your loved ones!
