The concept of "ECG" stands for "electrocardiogram." This is a graphical record of the electrical impulses of the heart.
In the heart of man has his own pacemaker. The pacemaker is directly in the right atrium. This place is called a sinus node. The pulse that comes from this node is called a sinus pulse (it will help to decipher what the ECG will show). It is this source of impulses that is located in the heart itself and produces electrical impulses. Then they are sent to a conductive system. Impulses in people who do not have a cardiac pathology pass evenly through the conducting cardiac system. All these outgoing pulses are recorded and displayed on the cardiogram tape.
From this it follows that the ECG - an electrocardiogram - is a graphically recorded pulse of the cardiac system. Will ECG show heart problems ? Of course, this is a great and quick way to detect any kind of heart disease. Moreover, an electrocardiogram is the most basic method in the diagnosis of pathology and various heart diseases.
The ECG apparatus was created by the Englishman A. Waller in the seventies of the XIX century. Over the next 150 years, the apparatus, which records the electrical activity of the heart, has undergone changes and improvements. Although the principle of operation has not changed.
Modern ambulance crews are necessarily equipped with portable ECG devices, with which you can make an ECG very quickly, saving valuable time. Using an ECG, you can even diagnose a person. An ECG will show heart problems: from acute cardiac abnormalities to myocardial infarction. In these cases, you can’t lose a minute, and therefore in time the cardiogram made can save a person’s life.
Doctors of ambulance crews themselves decipher the ECG tape and in case of acute pathology, if the device shows a heart attack, then, including the siren, the patient is quickly taken to the clinic, where he will be immediately provided with urgent care. But with problems, urgent hospitalization is not necessary, everything will depend on what the ECG shows.
In which cases an electrocardiogram is prescribed
If a person has the symptoms described below, the cardiologist sends him to an electrocardiogram:
- swelling of the legs;
- fainting conditions;
- have shortness of breath;
- pain in the sternum, in the back, pain in the neck.
An ECG is prescribed for pregnant women for examination, people in preparation for surgery, physical examination.
Also, ECG results are required in case of a trip to a sanatorium or if permission is required for any sports activities.
For prevention and if a person has no complaints, doctors recommend taking an electrocardiogram once a year. Often this can help diagnose asymptomatic cardiac pathologies.
What will the ECG show
On the tape itself, a cardiogram can show a set of teeth, as well as recessions. These teeth are denoted in capital letters P, Q, R, S and T. When deciphering, the cardiologist studies and decodes the width, height of the teeth, their size and the intervals between them. According to these indicators, you can determine the general condition of the heart muscle.
With the help of an electrocardiogram, various pathologies of the heart can be detected. Will an ECG show a heart attack? Of course, yes.
What determines an electrocardiogram
- Heart rate - heart rate.
- Heart beat rhythms.
- Heart attack.
- Arrhythmias.
- Ventricular hypertrophy.
- Ischemic and cardystrophic changes.
The most disappointing and serious diagnosis on an electrocardiogram is precisely myocardial infarction. In the diagnosis of heart attacks, ECG plays an important and even major role. With the help of a cardiogram, a zone of necrosis, localization and depth of lesions of the heart are detected. Also, when decoding the cardiogram tape, one can recognize and distinguish acute myocardial infarction from aneurysm and past scars. Therefore, when passing a medical examination, it is necessary to do a cardiogram, because it is very important for the doctor to know what the ECG will show.
Most often, a heart attack is associated directly with the heart. But it is not so. A heart attack can occur in any organs. There is a pulmonary infarction (when the lung tissue partially or completely dies if there is an obstruction of the arteries).
There is a cerebral infarction (in other words, ischemic stroke) - the death of brain tissue, which can be caused by thrombosis or rupture of cerebral vessels. With a cerebral infarction, functions such as speech, physical movement, and sensitivity may completely go astray or disappear.
When a person has a heart attack, death or necrosis of living tissue occurs in his body. The body loses the tissue or area of any organ, as well as the functions performed by this organ.
Myocardial infarction is the death or ischemic necrosis of areas or areas of the heart muscle itself due to complete or partial loss of blood supply. Heart muscle cells begin to die approximately 20-30 minutes after the blood flow stops. If a person has a myocardial infarction, blood circulation is disturbed. One or more blood vessels in this case fail. Most often, heart attacks occur due to blockage of blood vessels by blood clots (atherosclerotic plaques). The zone of spread of a heart attack depends on the severity of an organ malfunction, for example, an extensive myocardial infarction or microinfarction. Therefore, do not immediately despair if the ECG shows a heart attack.
This becomes a threat to the work of the entire cardiovascular system of the body and threatens life. In the modern period, heart attacks are the main cause of death among the population of developed countries.
Heart attack symptoms
- Dizziness.
- Labored breathing.
- Pain in the neck, shoulder, which can give back, numbness.
- Cold sweat.
- Nausea, feeling full of stomach.
- Squeeze in chest.
- Heartburn.
- Cough.
- Chronic fatigue.
- Loss of appetite.
The main signs of myocardial infarction
- Intense pain in the heart.
- Pain that does not stop after taking nitroglycerin.
- If the duration of pain is already more than 15 minutes.
Causes of a heart attack
- Atherosclerosis.
- Rheumatism.
- Congenital heart defect.
- Diabetes.
- Smoking, obesity.
- Arterial hypertension.
- Vasculitis.
- Increased blood viscosity (thrombosis).
- Earlier heart attacks.
- Severe coronary artery spasms (for example, when taking cocaine).
- Age-related changes.
The ECG also reveals other diseases, such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, ischemic disorders.
Arrhythmia
What to do if the ECG showed arrhythmia?
Arrhythmia can be characterized by numerous changes in the reduction in heart rate.
Arrhythmia is a condition in which there is a violation of the heart rhythm and heart rate. More often this pathology is noted by a failure of the heartbeat; the patient has either a rapid or slow heartbeat. An increase is observed upon inhalation, and a decrease upon exhalation.
Angina pectoris
If the patient has bouts of pain under the sternum or to the left of it in the region of the left arm, which can last several seconds, and can last up to 20 minutes, then the ECG will show angina pectoris.
Pain is usually aggravated by lifting weights, heavy physical exertion, when going out into the cold and can disappear at rest. Such pain is reduced within 3-5 minutes when taking nitroglycerin. The patient's skin turns pale and the pulse becomes uneven, which causes interruptions in the work of the heart.
Angina pectoris is one of the forms of coronary heart disease. It is often difficult to diagnose angina pectoris, because such deviations can also occur with other cardiac pathologies. Angina pectoris can subsequently lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Tachycardia
Many are very worried when they find out that the ECG showed tachycardia.
Tachycardia is an increase in the resting heart rate . Heart rhythms in tachycardia can reach up to 100-150 beats per minute. Such a pathology can occur in people, regardless of age, when lifting weights or with increased physical exertion, as well as with strong psycho-emotional arousal.
Still, tachycardia is considered rather than a disease, but a symptom. But it is no less dangerous. If the heart begins to beat too fast, then it cannot have time to fill up with blood, which subsequently leads to a decrease in the release of blood and a lack of oxygen in the body, as well as the heart muscle itself. If tachycardia lasts more than a month, this can lead to further malfunctions of the heart muscle and to an increase in heart size.
Symptoms characteristic of tachycardia
- Dizziness, fainting.
- Weakness.
- Dyspnea.
- Increased anxiety.
- Sensation of palpitations.
- Heart failure.
- Chest pain.
The causes of tachycardia can be: coronary heart disease, various infections, toxic effects, ischemic changes.
Conclusion
Now there are many different heart diseases that can be accompanied by painful and painful symptoms. Before starting their treatment, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis, find out the cause of the problem and, if possible, eliminate it.
Today, conducting an electrocardiogram is the only effective method in the diagnosis of heart pathologies, which is also completely harmless and painless. This method is suitable for everyone - both children and adults, and is also affordable, effective and highly informative, which is very important in modern life.