Electrocardiogram (ECG) - 12 lead Introduction Learning objectivesKey Rationale behind ECG recording An ECG is a method of graphic tracing of the electric current generated by the heart muscle during a heartbeat. The tracing is recorded with an electrocardiograph. Electrocardiography is an important diagnostic tool for heart disease. It can be used to monitor a patient's heart rate, assess the effects of injury or disease on cardiac function, assess pacemaker function, determine response to medication, or to obtain a baseline measure of cardiac function. An ECG recording can provide information about the orientation of the heart in the chest, electrical effects of medications, conduction disturbances, cardiac muscle mass, and the presence of ischemic changes. Physiology of the heart Blood flow The right atrium of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body, via the inferior and superior vena cavae, and also from the coronary sinus (draining the heart muscle
Pre-hospital emergency is the missing link in Nigerian health sector.