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an electrical change in the heart in which the voltage of the cells becomes more positive and the cells contract.
What is Depolarization
a test that uses sound waves to visualize the heart; provides information about the mechanical function of the heart
What is an echocardiogram
a type of ambulatory monitor that records heart rate and rhythm when the patient indicates that she is experiencing symptoms
What is an event monitor
in electrocardiography, the lead group made up of leads I, II, and III; also known as the bipolar leads
What is limb leads
the center of Einthoven’s triangle; acts as an electrically neutral point of reference for the precordial (chest) leads
What is Wilson’s central terminal
an electrical change in the heart in which the voltage of the cells becomes more negative and the cells relax.
What is repolarization
difference in electrical charge
What is voltage
a type of ambulatory monitor that detects heart rate or rhythm irregularities automatically and transmits data to a healthcare professional when an irregularity occurs
What is mobile cardiac telemetry
the imaginary triangle formed by the placement of the electrodes that record the limb leads
What is Einthoven’s triangle
in electrocardiography, interference or distortion that appears on a tracing
What is artifact
wires that connect electrodes placed on a patient’s body to an EKG machine; also called lead wires or electrode wires.
What are lead wires
an application of EKG technology that allows continual monitoring of a patient’s heart rate and rhythm; often used in an emergency room or hospital setting
What is telemetry
a common type of electrocardiogram that records the electrical activity of the heart in 12 different directions (leads)
What is a 12-lead EKG
in electrocardiography, the collective name for leads aVR, aVL, and aVF
What is augmented limb leads
mechanism on an EKG machine that allows adjustment of the height of the markings shown on the tracing.
What is gain control
in an EKG, the imaginary lines between two electrodes attached to the patient; each lead can produce a different EKG tracing and a different view of the heart’s electrical activity.
What are leads
a type of EKG technology that can record or monitor a patient’s heart rate and rhythm over an extended period while the patient continues with normal life; Holter, event, and mobile telemetry monitors are examples.
What is ambulatory monitoring
an EKG application used to evaluate how the heart functions under controlled stress created either by exercise or medications (pharmacologic stress test); also called exercise stress test, exercise tolerance test, and treadmill test
What is a stress test
in electrocardiography, leads that measure voltage at an electrically positive pole in comparison to a neutral reference point.
What are unipolar leads
the part of the EKG machine that creates marks on the EKG paper.
What is stylus
record of the electrical activity of a patient’s heart during an electrocardiogram (EKG) as recorded by an EKG machine; also called EKG strip or rhythm strip
What is EKG tracing
a type of ambulatory monitor that allows a doctor to evaluate heart rate and rhythm over an extended period of time (usually 24–48 hours) while the patient continues with normal life
What is a Holter monitor
in electrocardiography, a 12-second recording of the activity in lead II on an EKG tracing
What is a rhythm strip
in electrocardiography, the unipolar lead group composed of leads V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, and V6; also known as the chest leads
What are precordial leads
10 millimeters per millivolt, the most commonly used setting for the height of tracings on an EKG machine (a one-millivolt signal will create a mark 10 millimeters high).
What is standard gain