Hospital heart rate monitor

Diff · 2017-05-24 19:36:15

what is it? An EKG/ECG is fancier right? With a ton of different leads and stuff. All the heart rate monitors I've been hooked up to (at least that I remember) didn't have any more than 3. What is it? How does it work if it's at all different from an EKG/ECG. What's the difference between an ECG and an EKG, anyway?

Deleted user #158 · 2017-05-24 22:09:05

They are very similar. I believe an EKG just provides a screen display of the heart's rhythmic activity, while an ECG is a printed report. Three leads is the minimum. Most places, like my doctor, will do a 12-lead. The more leads you have, the more accurate of a read-out you get.

Last edited by patthedrummer (2017-05-24 22:09:19)

angelheart · 2017-05-24 22:51:47

patthedrummer wrote:

They are very similar. I believe an EKG just provides a screen display of the heart's rhythmic activity, while an ECG is a printed report. Three leads is the minimum. Most places, like my doctor, will do a 12-lead. The more leads you have, the more accurate of a read-out you get.

Yeah and No,
EKG is another term for ECG haha-
But from personal experience, yes they would use more leads to have a more accurate readout. If you look up texts, the leads are arranged in such a way that it fits within a 'upside down triangle', mainly to capture a "3-d" visual of the heart's movements.

I personally have been connected to a 5 lead before, and yeah... that felt weird.

paperpenguin · 2017-05-24 22:58:06

Diagnostic ECGs are 12-lead, have a teensy little screen and typically record a short but high-quality segment which they then either print on paper or send to a desktop PC.

Patient monitors generally have fewer leads like 3 or 5, but also support other sensors like temperature leads, pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs etc. They also tend to be built into/around a large screen, since their purpose is to sit bedside and show a realtime update of patient vitals and beep if something is amiss without necessarily recording.

The difference between ECG and EKG is who wrote your medical textbook. If it's a dead German man, it's EKG.

patthedrummer wrote:

I believe an EKG just provides a screen display of the heart's rhythmic activity, while an ECG is a printed report.

I believe you were thinking of the electrocardiogram vs. electrocardiograph distinction, which are the recorded trace and the machine used to make it, respectively.

Last edited by paperpenguin (2017-05-25 03:19:36)

Hrtbeat86bpm · 2017-05-25 18:03:02

ECG and EKG are pretty much the same exact thing. They both mean Electrocardiogram. The only difference is that EKG is I believe the German abbreviation for it while ECG is the American abbreviation for it. But the German abbreviation EKG has become more well known around the world, so the abbreviations for electrocardiogram could essentially be said either way. It's just whichever way you prefer. I myself prefer saying EKG rather than ECG. It just sounds better to me, plus it lessens the confusion as there are a bunch of other things with the initials ECG. Especially when I'm trying to find videos of women getting EKG's. Sometimes instead of typing in EKG, I'll decide to type in ECG just to see if I'll get some different results and a website called Exploited College Girls usually pops up which is also abbreviated as ECG. It's so annoying.

Last edited by Hrtbeat86bpm (2017-05-25 18:04:57)

carek29 · 2017-05-26 07:21:17

If by monitor you mean the ones usually wall-mounted bedside and EKG being the ones on the carts with 10 wires, not much is really different. At least with the part the lead wires are used for. The ones on the carts are designed to just monitor 12-leads and allow the person to record a snapshot then offer some analysis, specifically as a diagnostic tool. Though nowadays some of that analysis is a part of monitors. You'll see it on newer monitors, they can show intervals such as the QT interval and are able to detect certain rhythms.

Lead in this case, like ECG and EKG, is also a bit confusing. It's used to refer to both a "view" of the heart and a wire. Older monitors and devices like some defibrillators have 3 wires, often called a 3-lead ECG. The three wires (right-arm, left-arm, and left-leg) allow the monitor to display 6 leads (I, II, III, avR, avL, and avF). More common are the 5-lead monitors, that have 5 wires, which can show 8 leads (I, II, III, avR, avL, avF, MCL, and any V). The diagnostic ones, 12-lead, have 10 wires and show 12 leads (I, II, III, avR, avL, avF, and V1 through V6). There's also V7 through V9 placed on the patients back and the right sided leads achieved just by moving the chest wires about. More confusion can be added with how phillips 5-lead monitors can also use a configuration called EASI which with a different wire placement will show 12 leads. Also that the right-leg wire is used for feedback rather than measuring.

Diff · 2017-05-27 19:40:01

alright so something that kind of confused me when trying to find this out myself, a 3 lead ECG's leads are placed on "right arm" "left arm" "left leg", is that just the arteries leading to each of those limbs then?

HayaiShinzouNeko · 2017-05-29 13:07:40

Diff wrote:

alright so something that kind of confused me when trying to find this out myself, a 3 lead ECG's leads are placed on "right arm" "left arm" "left leg", is that just the arteries leading to each of those limbs then?

It has more to do with polarity and potential across the heart. But I think the reason why you often see "limb leads" placed on the torso is probably for mobility and to limit muscle noise.

paperpenguin · 2017-05-29 23:57:07

Diff wrote:

alright so something that kind of confused me when trying to find this out myself, a 3 lead ECG's leads are placed on "right arm" "left arm" "left leg", is that just the arteries leading to each of those limbs then?

I think this might be a holdover from the olden times where ECGs involved dipping your arms and a leg in jars of saltwater acting as electrodes. Now that we have fancy conductive stickers, they go on the chest, but the name stuck.

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#1 2017-05-24 19:36:15

Hospital heart rate monitor

#2 2017-05-24 22:09:05

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#3 2017-05-24 22:51:47

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#4 2017-05-24 22:58:06

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#5 2017-05-25 18:03:02

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#6 2017-05-26 07:21:17

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#7 2017-05-27 19:40:01

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#8 2017-05-29 13:07:40

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

#9 2017-05-29 23:57:07

Re: Hospital heart rate monitor

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