RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGIST

MEANING OF ECG An electrocardiogram is a picture of the electrical conduction of the heart. By examining changes from normal on the ECG, clinicians can identify a multitude of cardiac disease processes. There are two ways to learn ECG interpretation — pattern recognition (the most common) and understanding the exact electrical vectors recorded by an ECG as they relate to cardiac electrophysiology — and most people learn a combination of both. This tutorial pairs the approaches, as basing ECG interpretation on pattern recognition alone is often not sufficient. Parts of an ECG The standard ECG has 12 leads. Six of the leads are considered “limb leads” because they are placed on the arms and/or legs of the individual. The other six leads are considered “precordial leads” because they are placed on the torso (precordium). The six limb leads are called lead I, II, III, aVL, aVR and aVF. The letter “a” stands for “augmented,” as these leads are calculated as a combination of leads I, II and