As a patient, do you ever see a doctor who always asks you to do an electrocardiogram? You will say: I have a toothache, I have a cold, I have a sore throat, I have a stomachache, I have a vomiting, I have a dizziness, a headache, I am a ...... Why did you ask me to have an ECG? What an unscrupulous doctor, just to make money.
(Source: Zhu Xiaoxiao ECG Information)
Now, Dr. Fung tells you why doctors always ask you to do an ECG.
Clinically, angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction are extremely dangerous diseases, typical angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, the pain site is the upper or middle retrosternal segment (just like the part shown in the figure), the nature of the pain, similar to squeezing pain (a thousand pounds of weight pressed to the chest), can be accompanied by sweating, dyspnea, etc.
Angina pectoris is generally less than 15 minutes and more than 30 minutes, and accompanied by a sense of near-death, and acute myocardial infarction should be considered. Immediate medical attention is required.
Some people have a tightness in their throat.
However, in some patients, the onset does not have precordial pain, but presents with other symptoms, which are radiating or concomitant symptoms of angina pectoris or acute myocardial infarction.
This is the radiation site of angina pectoris or myocardial infarction pain
It radiates to the left teeth, head, pharynx, left neck, left shoulder and back, left arm, upper abdomen, and even left thigh. Presents with pain in the corresponding area.
Left toothache and sore throat can occur, and many patients seek dental or laryngological care first.
Abdominal pain, mainly under the xiphoid process (heart and mouth fossa), often delays diagnosis and treatment due to stomach problems.
Many of my friends, even high-level white-collar workers, have lost their lives due to abdominal pain mistaken for stomach problems.
The first symptom of some patients is vomiting, thinking that they have eaten a bad stomach, and delay diagnosis and treatment.
There are also severe headaches, dizziness, fatigue, syncope, and even sudden death as the first manifestations.
Children and young adults often develop acute viral myocarditis after "cold", diarrhea, and fever, resulting in severe arrhythmia and sudden death.
Myocarditis to enlarged heart
(Source: Zhu Xiaoxiao ECG Information)
tachycardia
Chamber-type Hayashi
These can occur in people with myocarditis.
Therefore, in order to prevent the onset of acute myocardial infarction, it is necessary to actively control risk factors, such as: hyperlipidemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia, tobacco and alcohol control, psychological balance, weight control, and improvement of bad lifestyle habits.
Not every disease is as typical as the textbook says, the disease is varied, and the doctor's diagnosis, just like Sherlock Holmes analysis of the case, needs to be identified, needs to be dynamically observed, an electrocardiogram of more than 20 yuan, can quickly judge whether there is a serious problem with the heart in a very short time, timely treatment of fatal myocardial infarction, myocarditis, for the sake of life, do you still have to refuse?
Since 1901, when Willem Einthoven recorded the first electrocardiogram with a string electrocardiogram machine, the ECG has been developed for more than 100 years.
(Source: Internet)
As one of the most common diagnostic tools in clinical practice, the scope of application has been expanding, and it has become one of the five routine examinations of "blood, urine, stool, imaging, and electrocardiogram", especially for some cardiovascular diseases such as chronic ischemic heart disease, acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, pericarditis, pulmonary embolism and arrhythmia.
In addition, electrocardiogram (ECG) is also of important auxiliary value in the diagnosis of hereditary ion channel diseases, cardiac structural abnormalities, electrolyte disorders, etc.
At the same time, electrocardiogram (ECG) has also been used to monitor the efficacy of anti-arrhythmic drugs and the status of proarrhythmias, assess preoperative risks, and screen people engaged in high-risk occupations or special occupations. Therefore, an ECG is crucial.
Some patients may wonder: Why does the doctor ask me to have an ECG that I had only done last month or even last week? I have already had an ECG in the outpatient clinic, but why do I need to check it again or even several times when I am hospitalized?
This is because many examinations are immediate, reflecting the physical condition at the time, and the ordinary ECG happens to be a kind of immediate examination. Cardiovascular disease changes rapidly, and it can change a lot from the previous minute to the next minute, and if we pay close attention, we will find that the time on the ECG report will be accurate to the minute, reflecting the current condition of the heart. When a patient develops new symptoms or discomfort worsens, the previous ECG report does not provide an accurate indication of the condition.
When are multiple ECGs done?
1. Myocardial infarction: ECG has different manifestations in different periods after acute myocardial infarction, and dynamic observation is required to diagnose it.
2. Myocardial ischemia: There may be some changes in the ECG during the attack, but it can be found more clearly by comparing the ECG multiple times.
3. Arrhythmia: The onset of most arrhythmias (such as various tachycardias, atrioventricular and bundle branch disorders) is transient and will appear briefly, and arrhythmias can only be found and diagnosed and determined by examination or multiple examinations when the patient has symptoms.
4. Exercise or drug stress test: exercise load is mainly to observe myocardial ischemia changes, induce arrhythmia, to observe ECG changes before and after exercise, need to do more times; atropine, propranolol, dobutamine and other drug tests need to do ECG many times after medication to diagnose diseases.
(Source: Photo.com)
There are also the following benefits of having an ECG:
1. Understand the basic situation
Since the heart is the most important capital of the body, no matter what disease occurs, it may harm the heart, so the doctor will do a basic assessment of the heart, through the electrocardiogram to understand whether the heart rate is normal, whether the heart is beating too fast, through the basic judgment before using drugs.
2. Find out whether there is coronary heart disease
Generally speaking, the diagnosis of coronary heart disease cannot be based solely on ECG, but ECG can make basic judgments, especially for acute myocardial infarction. An electrocardiogram (ECG) can quickly identify various types of heart disease, allowing doctors to make initial judgments and treat symptoms.
3. Determine whether the myocardium is damaged
If you need to be hospitalized because of a heart condition, the damage to the heart muscle may be present at the same time, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) can be done to see if this phenomenon exists.
4. Assist in judging arrhythmia
Another important role of ECG is to determine whether there is arrhythmia, because most doctors need to prescribe drugs to know whether there is arrhythmia, so they will pay more attention to the use of drugs, after all, there are many drugs that will cause arrhythmia.
5. Judge the treatment effect
If there is an acute heart disease that requires thrombolytic therapy, an electrocardiogram can be done to understand the treatment effect.
6. Assist in judging some other diseases
If the heart muscle is hypertrophied, the electrocardiogram can determine whether other aspects of the heart are normal, and it can also indirectly reflect the presence of hypertension, hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, etc.
I admire the famous words on the tombstone of the American doctor Trus: sometimes healing, often comforting, always helping.
May you get the help of every doctor and live a healthy life!
Source of this article: Quanzhou ECG Diagnostic Center
Part of the source comes from: Quanzhou ECG Diagnostic Center