Are all ECGs the same?
Discussion
Or do they target and look for different conditions?
The reason I ask is my brother recently has a heart attack, some sort of abnormality. His consultant has suggested it may be genetic therefore siblings should have an ECG.
I had an ECG earlier this year as part of a preoperative examination and proclaimed healthy. Do I need another more specific ECG? or is an ECG an ECG and that's all there is to it?
I may sound a bit paranoid but I'm being badgered by Mrs PR.
The reason I ask is my brother recently has a heart attack, some sort of abnormality. His consultant has suggested it may be genetic therefore siblings should have an ECG.
I had an ECG earlier this year as part of a preoperative examination and proclaimed healthy. Do I need another more specific ECG? or is an ECG an ECG and that's all there is to it?
I may sound a bit paranoid but I'm being badgered by Mrs PR.
I had an ECG before going on bleed pressure medication Electrocardiogram, check of signals, all over the body and compare.
I've heard people call Echocardiogram also an ECG, that's the proper check of the heart function and arteries including for blockages using ultra sound.
Do you know which the doc may want? I'd assume for relatives a simple Electrocardiogram would do but I'd imagine post heart attack the Echocardiogram would also be done.
I've heard people call Echocardiogram also an ECG, that's the proper check of the heart function and arteries including for blockages using ultra sound.
Do you know which the doc may want? I'd assume for relatives a simple Electrocardiogram would do but I'd imagine post heart attack the Echocardiogram would also be done.
Thanks a lot, I just lost 10 minutes learning about ECGs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocardiography
Interesting stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocardiography
Interesting stuff.
An ECG, by and large, is an ECG. Normally a 12-lead, sometimes a 15.
However, a bit like an X-ray, they do benefit from being told what to look for to prevent whoever interpreting it missing something.
For example, let’s say your brother’s been diagnosed with ARVC then someone looking at your ecg pre-operatively may not see an Epsilon wave as being relevant but in the context of your ongoing health, it may well quite significant. Silly example but in short, if you’ve been told to get one then just do it.
However, a bit like an X-ray, they do benefit from being told what to look for to prevent whoever interpreting it missing something.
For example, let’s say your brother’s been diagnosed with ARVC then someone looking at your ecg pre-operatively may not see an Epsilon wave as being relevant but in the context of your ongoing health, it may well quite significant. Silly example but in short, if you’ve been told to get one then just do it.
Edited by Badda on Monday 20th November 11:19
PositronicRay said:
I may sound a bit paranoid but I'm being badgered by Mrs PR.
For inherited conditions Mrs QT might be more worried..............sorry, Cardiologists aren't know for their humour!!
In a normal asymptomatic person the biggest things that can be picked on ECG is conduction deficits (can cause a cardiac arrest but not heart attack) versus ischaemia (heart attack) which nearly always needs a stress test of somekind to show dynamic changes.
Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 21st November 07:59
As others have said OP, the importance of the ECG is in the skills of who is interpreting it. An ECG can tell a cardiologist (especially one who specialises in the electrical functions of the heart) a great deal and is a our way to understanding and diagnosis.
There is also a skill in an ECG being taken well. I’d trust the read from one done by a nurse in the cardiology unit than in my GP’s surgery.
I have had loads of them. It was only one person who picked up on something not being right and consequently I’ve been on a bit of a journey for the last decade. FWIW I have not put my first degree relations through it as I don’t have a formal diagnosis (more a potential direction of travel).
Last thing: hearts are electrically powered pumps. Most of the time people talk about the plumbing part (heart attacks are pumping blockages that cause issues). But electrical issues are just as (often more) significant. It is often when something happens on the electrical front that serious problems occur.
ETA: echocardiograms are good. However, the gold standard is a cardiac MRI, but they’re not a lot of fun (had quite a few of those as well).
There is also a skill in an ECG being taken well. I’d trust the read from one done by a nurse in the cardiology unit than in my GP’s surgery.
I have had loads of them. It was only one person who picked up on something not being right and consequently I’ve been on a bit of a journey for the last decade. FWIW I have not put my first degree relations through it as I don’t have a formal diagnosis (more a potential direction of travel).
Last thing: hearts are electrically powered pumps. Most of the time people talk about the plumbing part (heart attacks are pumping blockages that cause issues). But electrical issues are just as (often more) significant. It is often when something happens on the electrical front that serious problems occur.
ETA: echocardiograms are good. However, the gold standard is a cardiac MRI, but they’re not a lot of fun (had quite a few of those as well).
Edited by OMITN on Monday 27th November 17:43
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