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2.4 - General Principles of Performing and Interpretation of Electrocardiography Results

from Section 2 - Diagnosis, Assessment, Investigation, Monitoring and Data Interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2023

By
Kyron Chambers
Edited by
Ned Gilbert-Kawai ,
Debashish Dutta  and
Carl Waldmann
Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
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Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. ECGs can be used for monitoring or diagnostic purposes.

  2. 2. Classically, in anaesthesia and the intensive care unit, a three-lead configuration is utilised.

  3. 3. The cardiac axis describes the summation of myocardial electrical potentials.

  4. 4. Classical ECG changes are described for electrolyte abnormalities.

  5. 5. The QT interval is dependent on the heart rate, for as the rate increases, the period for diastole decreases.

Keywords

ECGtachycardiasbradycardiaconduction delaysaxisbundle branch block
Type
Chapter
Information
Intensive Care Medicine
The Essential Guide
 , pp. 29 - 33
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

References and Further Reading

D’Angelo, R, Smiley, RM, Riley, ET, Segal, S. Serious complications related to obstetric anesthesia: the Serious Complication Repository Project of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology. Anesthesiol 2014;120:1505–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hampton, JR. The ECG Made Easy. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2008.Google Scholar
Houghton, AR, Gray, D. Making Sense of the ECG: A Hands-On Guide, 5th edn. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2020.Google Scholar
Lee, J. ECG monitoring in theatre. e-safe-anaesthesia.org/sessions/02_05/pdf/ECG-Monitoring-in-Theatre.pdfGoogle Scholar
Life in the Fast Lane. lifeinthefastlane.comGoogle Scholar
Morris, F, Edhouse, J, Brady, WJ, Camm, J. ABC of Clinical Electrocardiography. London: BMJ Books; 2003.Google Scholar

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