Each time your heart beats, the contractions and relaxations of the heart muscle emit electrical current. An electrocardiogram (EKG) is a medical recording of the electric impulses from the heart. Electrodes that send impulses to the EKG machine are attached to the patients skin at various points on the body. Those recorded currents are displayed on a computer monitor and can be printed out on special graph paper. Your hearts electrical currents are recorded on the graph paper as an EKG. Qualified medical staff interpret the graphed results to determine any irregularities.
Most EKGs are performed in a critical care facility, telemetry or any place that a particular patient needs to be monitored. EKGs can help your doctor determine the status of your heart health. By graphing the electrical impulses of the heart, doctors and other trained medical staff are able to see the presence of any abnormalities. The EKG recording often reveals the scars of past heart attacks and other heart damage. Although the test cannot predict future heart attacks or other heart problems, a combination of family history and additional examinations may give your doctor a good idea of what to expect.
Individuals experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or heart palpitations will likely be referred for an EKG by their doctor. An EKG is a rapid and safe way to determine if a heart attack is occurring. Those reporting these types of symptoms will likely be referred to the nearest Emergency Room for further evaluation. If your doctor does not think your symptoms indicate a life-threatening situation, you may be asked to make an appointment with an EKG specialist for further observation.
An EKG is a very simple and painless procedure. The patients are instructed to lie face up on an examination table while electrodes are strategically placed at various points on their body. The electrodes are attached to cables and the cables are attached to the EKG machine. The electrodes send electronic impulses to the machine and results in a printed graph, which is a picture of your heart function. The procedure usually takes 15 to 20 minutes but may require a longer visit if the technician needs additional testing data. A stress test is a normal EKG procedure that requires the patient perform moderate exercise while recording heart rhythms. EKG Info provides comprehensive information on EKG readings, interpretation, m machines, technicians, abnormal EKGs and more. EKG Info is the sister site of Stethoscopes Web.
Written By: Damian Sofsian
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about doing things that are healthy for your heart. Hardly a week goes by without some new fact or warning on the news about the latest foods and exercises to avoid or to add to your routines. It seems like almost everyone is consumed (and rightfully so) with lowering their cholesterol or with making time for more cardiovascular exercise. I haven’t heard much, however, about taking time to do what’s good for your heart. Not the physical heart that beats and pumps blood to keep you living, but the non-physical heart that allows you to feel, to relate with other people, and to make life worth living.
You see, I think that all of the work spent on your physical heart is in vain if you do not take just as much time or more to work on the health of your non-physical heart. I know all the excuses: life is too busy, my job is too demanding, my family requires all of my extra time. If you’re making any of these excuses the first step for you is to realize that the health of your heart is valuable enough to make a priority.
Taking time for your heart will not complicate your life as you might imagine. In fact, most people find that making time to improve the quality of their heart actually simplifies life and makes even the hardest things seem more enjoyable. Taking time for your heart will often help to renew friendships with people and re-center your life on what really matters.
Doing what is good for your heart can be as simple as going to see a good movie or picking up a book that you’ve wanted to read for a while. Your heart can be strengthened and renewed over a cup of tea with a close friend or by a long walk in the morning before the day begins. The only requirements of things that are healthy for your heart are that they refocus you and bring you joy and perspective in the midst of the busyness of life.
Just like the health of your physical heart is essential in order to have a healthy body, so the health of your non- physical heart is vital to having a healthy life. So take seriously this warning about your need for a healthy heart, and do what it takes to increase your heart health and life
expectancy today.
About the Author:
Rachael Cleipher is a consultant committed to helping people take care of their hearts in holistic ways. Learn more about the heart at www.heartgroup.info
Written By: Rachael Cleipher
Heart disease is a leading cause of death for Canadian men and women.1 Chest pain (a classic symptom of angina or heart attack) occurs when not enough blood is reaching the heart muscles due to the narrowing of the heart’s coronary arteries or complete blockage of these arteries. Learn the signs of a heart attack and the steps to take if you or a loved one experience these signs:
Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the centre of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms
Chest discomfort with lightheadness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath
Atypical chest pain, stomach or abdominal pain; nausea or dizziness
Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue
Not all of these signs occur in every attack. Sometimes they go away and return. If any occur, get help fast.
If you or someone else is having heart attack warning signs, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately.
Speak to your doctor to determine your level of risk and to discuss what measures you can take to reduce the risk of heart attack.
1 Selected leading causes of death by sex, Canada, 1997. Statistics Canada. www.statscan.ca (November 22, 2002).
About The Author
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Written By: News Canada
World Health Organization had campaigned for a smoke prohibition in Capital of Montana, Montana, announced that their efforts had paid off more dramatically than anyone could have imagined: The ordinance had led to an astonishing 60 percentage drop curtain in spirit attacks in the six months after it took effect. By the time their study, co-authored by anti- activist Stanton Glantz, was published in the April 5, 2004, issue of the British Medical Journal, the drop cloth they attributed to the proscription had become 40 per centum–not quite as impressive but distillery remarkable. And hush preposterous, even if you accept the anti- movement’s claims approximately used fastball and mettle disease.
According to the American Heart Association, heater is responsible for(p) for close to pct of nerve disease deaths. Even a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing that completely eliminated photograph to hummer (which ’s didn’t, since it did not apply to private residences) could not achieve anything like the effect described by , Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., and Glantz, WHO in any case made no attempt to measure photo. Hedging their bets, et al. noted that a BAN not only reduces pic to bullet but besides encourages smokers to give up or cut back.
But even if ’s ordinance caused every smoker in town to fall by the wayside (which it assuredly didn’t), it stillness could not be creditworthy for a 40 dip in spunk attacks. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accounts for just about 20 of pump disease deaths.
An immediate 40 fall in ticker attacks across the whole population too implies a much quicker and larger risk reduction than is seen in studies of people drop by the wayside .
In response to educators’ need for better ways to deal with teens World Health Organization smoke, the American English Lung Connection developed a new gender-sensitive, schoolhouse-based adolescent smoke surcease programme called Not On Baccy (N-O-T). N-O-T is intentional to provide an effective, easy-to-manipulation, and usable method for helping adolescents drop out . The plan is especially configured for 14 to 19-class-old youthfulness WHO ar regular smokers likely to be addicted to nicotine; volunteer to enter (whenever potential); and wish to give up exploitation a grouping platform.
About the author:
Mike Cliff http://www.informationkiosk.net
Written By: Mike Cliff
Diabetes is one condition that must be treated as soon as it is diagnosed, even though in its early stages it doesn’t hurt, or cause inconvenience, or create any worrisome symptoms. But ignoring it is a mistake, because the blood sugar imbalance we diabetics live with can cause a variety of complications, even leading to other serious health conditions.
One major cause for concern is adverse effects on our hearts. Our unstable blood sugar levels can cause poor circulation–a big step on the road to heart problems. Here are some things to watch for.
Hypertension
Diabetes often goes hand-in-hand with high blood pressure, or hypertension. In fact, your doctor will tell you that diabetics must work to get their blood pressure down even lower than other people. While a systolic pressure (the top number) of 140 might be acceptable for the general population, we diabetics should aim for 130 or lower. It’s all part of the battle against possible heart disease.
Blood fats
Cholesterol and tryglycerides, or blood fats, also need to be kept lower in diabetics. Lots of fruits and vegetables, fewer packaged or fried foods are your best bets for dietary blood fat control. Throw out that frying pan!
Blood sugar
Blood sugar levels need monitoring too, as consistently high levels damage blood vessels and can lead to cardiovascular difficulties.
Weight level
And of course you know it’s important to maintain a healthy weight. Why is that particularly important for us diabetics? First, if you are overweight your heart muscle needs to work harder to pump blood through your system. This weakens your blood vessels, which are then more susceptible to damage from fluctuating blood sugar levels. It’s a vicious cycle you don’t want to create.
Your heart is the main engine of your whole body, so you need to do everything possible to keep it in good shape. For the sake of a healthy heart, take control of your diabetes.
About the author:
Bob Fleming suffers from Type 2 diabetes, but he does everything he can to suffer as little as possible! Visit his website at http://www.thediabetesinfoplace.com for informative articles and resources, and sign up to receive Bob’s free weekly diabetic-friendly dessert recipe!
Written By: Bob Fleming
Heart Health Fish Oils To The Rescue
By Jeannie Crabtree
In a world where heart disorders and diseases are becoming more common, lets take a look at something most of us can add to our weekly diet for prevention of heart problems.
Omega 3 fatty acids, found in fish oil promotes heart health. A daily dose of fish oil has helped prevent, slow or even reverse the hardening and narrowing of arteries in heart disease in some studies.
In a 2001 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from the University of Munich reported that a fish-oil capsule a day may “modestly” improve blood flow to the heart and bolster traditional therapy in patients with atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. In a study of 223 men and women, those who took a dose of fish oil per day for two years had fewer atherosclerosis complications such as heart attack and stroke.
Fish oil, found in fish such as salmon, it is a key component of the low-saturated-fat Mediterranean diet that has been linked to the lower incidence of heart disease in that area of the world.
How does fish oil work? Researchers are not ready to say, but one team of doctors used x-ray to peer into patients heart arteries at the beginning and end of one study. They found that after two years, the arteries of the fish-oil patients, on average, offered more room for blood flow to flow through, with less plaque.
The improvements were not dramatic, however the doctors team concluded that the benefits found in this study are significant enough to warrant including fish oil as part of traditional heart-disease treatment. At minimum, taking a daily capsule or dining on fish twice weekly would fulfill the needed amount.
Fish oil has also been found to help heart rhythm problems and can help to thin the blood as well. Research continues and always finds Fish oils to be helpful for the heart. It is certainly worth adding fish a couple times per week to the diet, isnt it?
Jeannie Crabtree C.Ac, EFT-CC. has helped people increase their health for the last 25 years Visit her site at http://www.health-doc.com and her Healthy Living Blog at http://www.health-doc.com/blog/health-blog.html
Written By: Jeannie Crabtree
