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Description Of An Electrocardiogram, Or Ecg Or Ekg

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Introduction
“An Electrocardiogram, or ECG or EKG, is a recording of the hearts electrical activity as a graph over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external of the body”(Boundless). The graph of an ECG can identify various things initiated by the heart, such as its rate, rhythm, a decrease in blood flow, and a possible enlargement. For a healthy individual, a typical ECG shows the whole cardiac cycle or heart beat which includes a P wave (Atrial depolarization), a QRS complex (Ventricular depolarization), and a T wave (Ventricular repolarization). The ECG’s first spike or P wave is triggered by the Sinoatrial node (SA node), which is also known as the pacemaker and the electrical impulse from the atria to the ventricles is conducted by the atrioventricular node (AV node). During each heart beat the heart muscle depolarizes, this is detected on the skin where the ECG electrodes are placed by the machine and then translated into a linear representation (Boundless). The resting membrane potential of a heart cell is -60mv, when an influx of positive ions enter the cell (NA+ and CA++) depolarization takes place causing the heart to contract. This action takes place during the peak of the P wave (Atria systole). The QRS complex represent when the left and right ventricles contract and depolarize, also called ventricular systole. This action normally takes place at the highest amplitude in the complex,

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