How to Read an EKG Strip
An electrocardiogram is a painless medical procedure that takes a measurement of your heartbeat that your doctor can use to analyze your heart's health. An electrocardiogram will produce an EKG strip, which measures the electrical activity of your heart.
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Instructions
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Have your doctor administer an EKG. The results of the test will be immediately available on paper for examination.
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Locate the sharp spikes in the activity line. These represent your heartbeat. You can measure the distance between them using the smallest squares, which each represent one-fifth of a second. The bold squares are composed of 25 smaller squares, and they represent one second. Measure the space between each peak. The length of time should be consistent across. If times are sporadic, you may have an irregular heartbeat.
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Measure the vertical distance the activity line jumps on your heartbeat. Each small square---equivalent to one millimeter---equals .1 mV (millivolt). This measures the electrical activity of your heart.
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Calculate your heart rate by looking at a six-second strip of the EKG, counting the number of hearbeat spikes and multiplying the number by 10. This will give you an approximate heart rate in beats per minute.
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Ask your doctor about any activity outside of the heartbeats and what they might signify. Doctors will look at the less prominent activity to determine if you might have a heart murmur or other condition.
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Tips & Warnings
Listen to your doctor's reading of the EKG rather than your own. Doctors and cardiologists are trained to read the EKG strip and can quickly identify anything out of place.
References
- Photo Credit Photo courtesy of Ben Hulley on Flickr
