“As the most commonly performed heart test, an electrocardiogram measures and records the electrical activity of your heart. Also known as an ECG or EKG, this key diagnostic tool provides invaluable and insightful information about the rhythm and function of your heart.
Simply put, an EKG is a “heart tracing” that offers a reliable (if not preliminary) snapshot of your cardiovascular health.
An EKG is a painless and noninvasive test that measures your heart’s electrical efficiency as it beats. As one of the fastest informational or diagnostic heart tests available, EKG testing can usually be completed in just five minutes.
To conduct an EKG test, a patient attaches up to 12 small, flat, sticky patches called electrodes at various points on your chest, arms, and legs. The electrodes are connected to a monitor that registers your heart’s electrical activity over the course of the exam.
During standard EKG testing, you lie still on a table as the electrodes detect and transmit the electrical activity of your heart to the monitor. EKG testing may also be used to measure and record your heart’s electrical efficiency under stress and through recovery.
The electrical activity of your heart doesn’t just drive your heartbeat, it also sets the rhythm and rate of that beat. A healthy heart usually has a regular beat that’s powered by steady electrical patterns, while a diseased or dysfunctional heart is more likely to have an irregular beat that’s controlled by fast, slow, or erratic electrical patterns.
Every single heartbeat is driven by an electrical impulse, or wave, that causes your heart to contract; each vital contraction keeps blood flowing seamlessly through your body.
An EKG monitors the strength, timing, and efficiency of this wave as it travels through the upper chambers of your heart to the lower chambers. It also monitors the electrical recovery between waves, or your heart’s momentary return to a resting state between each beat.”
ECCA Cardiologists (What an EKG Test Can Tell Your Doctor About Your Heart)