Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a non-invasive test that provides valuable information about the health of the heart. The essence of this method consists in registering electrical potentials arising during the work of the heart and in their graphic display on a display or paper.

The ECG is a valuable diagnostic tool. It can be used to assess the source (the so-called driver) of the rhythm, the regularity of the heartbeats, and their frequency.

All this is of great importance for the diagnosis of various arrhythmias.

How is ECG performed

The ECG is a very informative, inexpensive and accessible test that provides a lot of information about cardiac activity.

An ECG is quick, painless, and harmless. After you change into a gown, a technician attaches 12 to 15 soft electrodes with a gel to your chest, arms, and legs. The technician may have to shave small areas to ensure the electrodes stick properly to your skin. Each electrode is about the size of a quarter. These electrodes are attached to electrical leads (wires), which are then attached to the ECG machine.

During the test, you’ll need to lie still on a table while the machine records your heart’s electrical activity and places the information on a graph. Make sure to lie as still as possible and breathe normally. You shouldn’t talk during the test.

After the procedure, the electrodes are removed and discarded. The entire procedure takes about 10 minutes.

To make the diagnostic possibilities of the ECG more extensive, a longer recording is used, the so-called Holter ECG in 28-48 hours.