When a person suffers from chest pain, the doctor immediately takes an ECG. Visit a doctor and get information about ECG. You may even look up an encyclopaedia or the internet.
Answers
An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a medical test that detects cardiac (heart) abnormalities by measuring the electrical activity generated by the heart as it contracts. The machine that records the patient’s ECG is called an electrocardiograph.
The electrocardiograph records the electrical activity of the heart muscle and displays this data as a trace on a screen or on paper. This data is then interpreted by a medical practitioner.
ECGs from healthy hearts have a characteristic shape. Any irregularity in the heart rhythm or damage to the heart muscle can change the electrical activity of the heart so that the shape of the ECG is changed.
A doctor may recommend an ECG for people who may be at risk of heart disease because there is a family history of heart disease, or because they smoke, are overweight, or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
They may also recommend an ECG if a person is experiencing symptoms such as:
chest pain
shortness of breath
dizziness
An electrocardiogram is a device which is used to measure the heart contraction and the relaxation of the heart or the cardiac muscles. Generally it doesn't measure the heartbeat and is used to measure the abnormal heartbeat cause due to the contraction of the heart. Doctors tell the patients for an ECG when the patient suffers from pain in the heart. This may be due to Angina pectoris or tachycardia due to Friedreich's ataxia.