Electrocardiogram examination, I believe everyone is familiar with it, it is a regular item that we need to do in physical examinations. In regular physical examinations, friends who undergo physical examinations often ask: Why do I have to do an electrocardiogram if my heart is not uncomfortable? Or when receiving the electrocardiogram report, seeing the fluctuating waveform and expressing confusion. Today, let's learn about electrocardiograms together and master some small knowledge about electrocardiograms.
1、 What are the types of electrocardiogram examinations?
Electrocardiogram examination mainly includes regular electrocardiogram, dynamic electrocardiogram, and exercise flat test electrocardiogram. In routine electrocardiogram examination, only 4 limb lead electrodes and 6 chest lead electrodes are usually placed. For patients highly suspected of coronary heart disease, additional leads are added to the right chest and back to understand the electrocardiogram activity and determine whether there is myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, etc. 24-hour dynamic electrocardiogram examination is often suitable for the examination of suspected arrhythmia patients with syncope, palpitations, and newly diagnosed cerebral infarction. It can continuously record the electrocardiogram activity of the examinee during the day and night time periods, thus compensating for the shortcomings of ordinary electrocardiogram and greatly improving the detection rate of irregular palpitations, especially transient palpitations and brief chest tightness and chest pain attacks. The exercise tablet test electrocardiogram is a method of allowing the subject to walk on a treadmill and gradually increase their speed. It can record the electrocardiogram of those who experience symptoms such as chest tightness, chest pain, and palpitations during work, labor, or exercise, which can improve the diagnostic rate of exertional myocardial ischemia.
2、 What diseases can be detected by electrocardiogram?
For the general population, electrocardiogram examination can detect some diseases such as arrhythmia, conduction block, myocardial ischemia, etc. with unclear symptoms. Applied to gastrointestinal endoscopy and surgical patients, it can help doctors evaluate patients' surgical tolerance, potential unexpected situations during surgery, and provide a basis for drug use and anesthesia selection. Performing electrocardiogram examination on pregnant women can evaluate their cardiac endurance. Patients with arrhythmia should undergo electrocardiogram examination to determine the nature of the arrhythmia and guide clinical treatment and medication. Electrocardiogram examination can be performed on patients with acute angina to diagnose the location, extent, and prognosis of the infarction in a timely manner. Performing electrocardiogram examination on patients with electrolyte disorders can assist in diagnosing conditions such as high potassium or low potassium. Performing electrocardiogram examination on patients with pacemakers can determine the working status of artificial pacemakers. In addition, some characteristic signs of electrocardiogram examination can be used to diagnose diseases such as pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, and hypothermia.
3、 What do the common results on the electrocardiogram examination report represent?
1. Sinus tachycardia. Refers to an adult sinus rhythm frequency greater than 100 beats per minute. Commonly seen in situations such as exercise, mental stress, fever, hyperthyroidism, anemia, blood loss, myocarditis, etc.
2. Sinus bradycardia. The frequency of sinus rhythm is less than 60 beats per minute. It is normal for elderly people and athletes to have relatively slow heart rates, but sinus node dysfunction, increased intracranial pressure, hypothyroidism, and medication can also cause sinus bradycardia.
3. Sinus arrhythmia. Belonging to a normal physiological phenomenon, not a disease, commonly seen in adolescents. Patients with sinus arrhythmia should pay attention to whether there is a relationship between their own heart rate acceleration and deceleration and respiration. If there are no other obvious symptoms, treatment is generally not necessary.
4. Premature contractions. It refers to sudden premature heartbeats outside of regular heartbeats. Premature beats are not always pathological, and healthy individuals may also experience premature beats through drinking alcohol, coffee, tea, exercise, and other activities. About 90% of elderly people may experience premature atrial and ventricular contractions. After detecting premature beats, doctors often make further judgments based on medical history and other examinations.
5. Conduction block. After the cardiac bioelectricity comes out of the sinoatrial node, it encounters obstacles in the conduction process. If conduction block is found during examination, it is recommended to consult a doctor to determine whether further examination and treatment are needed.
6. T-wave changes. If the result is mildly elevated, it generally has no significant meaning. If it is significantly elevated, there may be conditions such as hyperacute myocardial infarction and hyperkalemia. If it is low or inverted, there may be myocardial injury, myocardial ischemia, hypokalemia, etc. If the T wave is significantly inverted and the two branches are symmetrical, with the top centered, there may be acute myocardial infarction, chronic coronary artery insufficiency, and left ventricular hypertrophy.
7. ST segment changes. ST segment abnormality is too high, commonly seen in acute myocardial infarction, acute pericarditis, etc; Abnormal depression is common in chronic coronary heart disease, acute myocarditis, ventricular hypertrophy, etc.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a technique that uses an electrocardiograph to record the electrical activity changes generated by each cardiac cycle on the surface of the body. It can measure and diagnose abnormal cardiac rhythms and is a non-invasive and non-invasive examination method. In clinical physical examination and disease diagnosis, electrocardiogram can be used to understand changes in the heart and detect heart lesions in a timely manner.