Thursday, 28 July 2011

The ECG

What is an ECG?
Have you watched television shows or movies where a patient in a hospital is attached to an electrocardiogram (ECG)? The ECG is a machine with a line moving across a screen that occasionally spikes or remains flat when a patient is dying. It is a recording of the small electric waves being generated during heart activity.

What makes the heart beat?
A normal heart beat is initiated by a small pulse of electric current. This tiny electric "shock" starts at the top of the heart and spreads down, and then up again, causing the heart muscle to contract in a way that has the pumping effect.

Where does the electricity come from?
In the heart, the pacemaker cells specialise in producing electricity.

~ Serena's Greenhouse

No comments:

Post a Comment