The Importance of EKGs for Heart Health: How I Discovered I Had an Irregular Heartbeat

Discovering I Had an Irregular Heartbeat

In 2023, I discovered I had an irregular heartbeat. This was shown in the results of my most recent EKGs.

I had never paid attention to EKGs until my cardiologist pointed out that my results showed an abnormality.

In this article, I will share the following information.

• What is an EKG?
• How is an EKG administered?
• Why are EKGs important for heart health?
• What do EKG results specifically show?
• An interpretation of my most recent EKG

What Is an EKG?

According to the Mayo Clinic, an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) records the electrical signals from the heart to check for different heart conditions.

Wikipedia further defines electrocardiography as the process of producing an EKG. This records the heart's electrical activity through repeated cardiac cycles. It is made in an electrogram of the heart, a voltage graph versus time of the heart's electrical activity.

How My EKG Was Administered

EKGs are usually administered in an outpatient setting. My EKG was given in the examination room of my cardiologist at Bangkok Hospital in Udon, Thailand.

The entire procedure took 5-10 minutes and proceeded as follows.

1. While wearing shorts, I took off my shirt and lay down on a hospital bed.
2. A nurse placed 10 to 12 electrodes (small, plastic patches that stick to the skin) at certain spots on my chest, arms, and legs.
3. Lead wires connected the electrodes to an EKG (ECG) machine.
4. The electrical activity of my heart was measured, interpreted, and printed out on a graph in less than one minute. No electricity was sent into my body.
5. After a nurse removed the electrodes from my body, the procedure was finished, and I could get dressed.

Why Are EKGs Important for Heart Health?

According to the Mayo Clinic, an EKG helps diagnose many common heart problems. They can be used to determine or detect the following.

1. Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmias)
2. If blocked or narrowed arteries in the heart (coronary heart disease) are causing chest pain or a heart attack.
3. Whether you have had a previous heart attack
4. How well heart disease treatments, such as a pacemaker, are working

EKGs can also determine the cause of these signs and symptoms.

1. Chest pain
2. Dizziness, lightheadedness, or confusion
3. Heart palpitations
4. Rapid pulse
5. Shortness of breath
6. Weakness, fatigue, or decline in the ability to exercise

What Do EKG Results Specifically Show?

EKG (ECG) results can give details about the following.

1. Heart rate
2. Heart rhythm
3. Previous heart attacks
4. Blood and oxygen supply to the heart
5. Heart structure change

In this article, I will only discuss heart rate and heart rhythm.

Heart Rate

Heart rate is the rate at which the sinoatrial (SA) node of the heart depolarizes (initiates electrical stimuli).

Heart rate is usually measured by checking the pulse. An EKG (ECG), however, can help identify a high-speed heart rate (tachycardia) or an unusually slow heart rate (bradycardia).

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The heart rate may be printed on the EKG or calculated from the graphs.

Heart Rhythm

Heart rhythm is how evenly spaced the waves on an EKG are from each other. Evenly spaced waves are called a sinus rhythm.

Sinus rhythm is the heart's normal rhythm, where electrical stimuli are initiated in the SA node, then conducted through the atrioventricular (AV) node and the bundle of His, bundle branches, and Purkinje fibers.

Depolarization and repolarization (which allows the muscle cells of the ventricles to regain the ability to depolarize again) of the atria and ventricles show up as three distinct waves on an EKG.

Three Distinct Waves

• P wave
• QRS complex
• T wave

P Wave

The P wave represents the depolarization of the atria, the two upper chambers in the heart that receive blood from the veins and push it into the ventricles.

The depolarization originates at the SA node and disperses into the left and right atria.

The electrical excitation of the atria is called depolarization of the atria and causes the contraction of the atria.

The AV node controls the heart's electrical signal passage from the atria to the ventricles.

QRS Complex

The QRS complex represents the depolarization of the ventricles. It shows the beginning of systole and ventricular contractions.

The QRS complex comprises the Q, R, and S waves.

The Q wave is the first downward deflection after the P wave and the first element in the QRS complex. It represents the normal left-to-right depolarization of the interventricular septum.

The R wave reflects the depolarization of the primary mass of the ventricles.

The S wave signifies the ventricles' final depolarization at the heart's base.

T Wave

The T wave follows the QRS complex and is triggered by ventricular repolarization.

Normal vs. Irregular Heartbeat

A normal sinus rhythm produces a prototypical P wave, QRS complex, and T wave pattern. Any deviation from a normal sinus rhythm is a cardiac arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.

An Interpretation of My Most Recent EKG

Bangkok Hospital in Udon, Thailand, administered my EKG on December 5, 2023. The results of my EKG are printed out in four linear graphs, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents voltage. The data on the top of the EKG sheet expresses time in milliseconds ms. 1 ms = .001 second.

I now interpret the following information and data on my EKG.

• 05.12.2023 8:13:57: The EKG was administered at 8:13 a.m. on December 5, 2023.
• 60 bpm: This is my heart rate or pulse. The normal heart rate is 60–100 bpm.
• QRS: 84 ms: The QRS complex indicates the depolarization of the ventricles and the beginning of systole and ventricular contraction. The average EKG value for the wave and interval is 80–100 ms.
• QT/QTcBaz: 416/416 ms: The QT interval shows the duration of the ventricular systole, including ventricular activation and recovery. The Bazett Formula Baz corrects the measured QT interval to a value QTc attributable to a heart rate of 60 bpm. The normal EKG value is 350–450 ms.
• PR: 214 ms: This is the time delay between the atrial and ventricular activation. The normal EKG value for the delay interval is 120–200 ms.
  
• P: 132 ms: This is the duration of the depolarization of the atria. The normal EKG value for the P wavelength should not exceed 120 ms.
• RR/PP: 998/1,000 ms: RR is the length of one complete cardiac cycle interval. PP is the cardiac beat-to-beat length interval. The normal EKG value for the RR interval is 600–1,200 ms.
• P/QRS/T: 73/9/50 degrees: This is the P, QRS, and T waves' cardiac axis. The cardiac axis is the direction of the heart's electrical signals. The axis may be normal, left-shifted, or right-shifted. The normal EKG values are 0–75/minus 30–90/15–75 degrees.
• Sinus rhythm with 1st-degree AV block: This is abnormally slow conduction through the AV node. EKG changes include a PR interval greater than 200 ms without atrial to ventricular conduction disruption. This condition is usually asymptomatic.

The following is a description of the EKG electrode leads on my EKG.

• aVR: This lead was placed on my right shoulder. It looked at the upper right side of my heart.
• aVL: This lead was placed on my left shoulder. It looked at the upper left side of my heart.
• aVF: This lead was placed on my lower abdomen. It looked at the bottom or inferior wall of my heart.
• V1: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave a septal (lower chamber) view of my heart.
• V2: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave a septal view of my heart.
• V3: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave an anterior view of my heart showing the four chambers, major vessels, and branches.
• V4: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave an anterior view of my heart.
• V5: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave a lateral view of my heart.
• V6: This lead was placed on my chest. It gave a lateral view of my heart.
  

Summary

I am not a physician and don't have any medical training. After I received the results of my latest EKG and discovered that I had an irregular heartbeat, I wanted to understand my EKG and what the graphs and data on it meant. The information in this article was taken from various medical sources, which I list below.

Sources

• Wikipedia
• Mayo Clinic
• Incredible Health
• National Institute of Health
• Geeky Medic
• Medscape
• Cardiac@irispublishers.com
• Johns Hopkins
• ppemedical.com
• cardiacdirect.com

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.

© 2023 Paul Richard Kuehn