What Does an Electrocardiogram Show?
Many heart problems change the hearts
electrical activity in distinct ways. An electrocardiogram (EKG) can help
detect a number of heart problems.
EKG recordings can help doctors diagnose a
heart
attack that’s happening now or has happened in the past. This is
especially true if doctors can compare a current EKG recording to an older
one.
An EKG also can show:
- Lack of blood flow to the heart muscle
- A heart that’s beating too fast, too slow,
or with an irregular rhythm (arrhythmia)
- A heart that doesn’t pump forcefully enough
(heart
failure)
- Heart muscle thats too thick or parts of
the heart that are too big
- Birth defects in the heart (congenital
heart defects)
- Problems with the heart valves (heart
valve disease)
- Inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart
(pericarditis)
An EKG also can reveal whether the heartbeat starts
at the top right part of the heart like it should. The test shows how long it
takes for the electrical signals to travel through the heart. Delays in signal
travel time may suggest
heart
block or
long
QT syndrome. |