Lupus Site - a guide for lupus patients and their families

An electrocardiogram, also called an ECG or EKG, is a graphic record of the heart's electrical activity. An ECG is used to diagnose disorders of the heart including coronary heart disease, coronary thrombosis, pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis & arrhythmias.  

A person can have an ECG while either lying down or exercising on a treadmill. A technician will use an adhesive to attach from 12 to approximately 15 electrodes at specific sites on the skin. These sites are selected on both arms and on the chest. The sites will be cleaned and perhaps shaved before the electrodes are attached. A machine then records the electrical activity of the heart under conditions a doctor has specified. An ECG usually takes about 5 minutes to perform. The procedure is painless.

Normal results include the following:

• a heart rate that is between 50 and 100 beats per second

• a consistent and even rhythm

• a pattern on the graph that corresponds to pattern profiles established for healthy people

Abnormal results can come from any of the following:

• a muscle defect

• an enlargement of the heart

• defects from birth

• heart-valve disease

• abnormal rhythms (or arrhythmias including tachycardia, a heartbeat that is too fast, or bradycardia, a heartbeat that is too slow)

• coronary artery disease

• an inflammation of the heart

• an altered electrolyte balance (including potassium or sodium abnormalities)

• a past heart attack, one that is happening at the moment, or one that is about to happen