A SEMINAR ON ECG

By:
Neethi Y H
Supriya K M
 ECG: Electro cardio graphy
It is the word derived from the Greek words:
• Electro: Related to Electricity
• Cardio: Heart
• Graphy: To Write

DEFINITION:
ECG is a Recording of the small electric waves
being generated during the Heart activity.
History:
ECG was first developed by Dutch scientist
Willem Einthoven in 20th century for which he
won the Nobel prize in Medicine.
How does Electricity come from
Heart:
• In the heart there are cells specialized in
producing electricity. These are called
pacemaker cells. They produce electricity by
quickly changing their electrical charge from
positive to negative and back.
• The first electric wave in a heart beat is
initiated at the top of the heart. Because of the
heart muscle cell's ability to "spread" its
electric charge to adjacent heart muscle cells,
this initial wave will be enough to start a
chain reaction.
Purposes of ECG:

• To detect Heart problems or blockages in the

Arteries.
• To draw a graph impulses moving through
the Heart.
• To record Heart rate and Regularities of
Heart beat.
• To diagnose a possible Heart Attack and
other Heart Disorders
How EcG works:
The ECG works by detecting and amplifying the
tiny electrical changes on the skin that are
caused when the heart muscle "depolarises"
during each heart beat. At rest, each heart muscle
cell has a charge across its outer wall. Reducing
this charge towards zero is called de-
polarisation, which activates the mechanisms in
the cell that cause it to contract.
ECG MACHINE :
Rather than using today's self-adhesive
electrodes Einthoven's subjects would immerse
each of their limbs into containers of salt
solutions from which the ECG was recorded.
Thank you!!
ECG lead configuration:
Einthoven assigned the letters P, Q, R, S and T to
the various deflections, and described the
electrocardiographic features of a number of
cardiovascular disorders.
 •Behold: Einthoven's Triangle!
Each of the 6 frontal plane
leads has a negative and
positive orientation (as
indicated by the '+' and '-'
signs). It is important to
recognize that Lead I (and to a
lesser extent Leads aVR and
aVL) are right Ûleft in
orientation. Also, Lead aVF
(and to a lesser extent Leads II
and III) are superior Ûinferior
in orientation.

The electrodes are typically 12 in number.These are classified into:

•Three Standard Arm Electrodes.
•Three Augmented Electrodes.
•Six Chest Electrodes.
•Three Standard Arm Leads
•Augmented Three Unipolar Leads
Precordial Leads:
MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA AND
INFARCTION:
• If a coronary artery is occluded, the transport
of oxygen to the cardiac muscle is decreased,
causing an oxygen debt in the muscle, which is
called ischemia.
•Ischemia causes changes in the resting potential
and in the repolarization of the muscle cells,
which is seen as changes in the T-wave. If the
oxygen transport is terminated in a certain area,
the heart muscle dies in that region. This is called
an infarction.
• An infarct area is electrically silent since it has
lost its excitability. The loss of this outward
dipole is equivalent to an electrical force
pointing inward. With this principle it is
possible to locate the infarction.
Advantages:
•It is Painless.

•It is Non Invasive.

•It is Safe, Inexpensive, Easy to perform.

•Large availability.

•Highly compactible.
Disadvantages:

•Low Sensitive.

•The ECG reveals the heart rate and rhythm

only during the time that the ECG is taken. If
intermittent cardiac rhythm abnormalities are
present, the ECG is likely to miss them.

•It doesn’t always permit an accurate diagnosis.

•Some Negative results.