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WHAT IS ECG

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a non-invasive test that records and displays the electrical activities produced by heart muscle during a cardiac cycle. The ECG test is a standard clinical tool for diagnosing abnormal heart rhythms and to assess the general condition of a heart, such as myocardial infarctions, atrial enlargements, ventricular hypertrophies, and bundle branch blocks.
ECG waveform

Each EKG cycle consists of 5 waves called PQRST. The P wave represents the normal atrial depolarization; the QRS complex (one single heart beat) corresponds to the depolarization of the right and left ventricles; the T wave represents the repolarization (or recovery) of the ventricles.

A complete ECG is taken using 10 electrodes capturing 12 leads (signals) to get a total picture of the heart.


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