An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) test checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. An EKG translates the heart's electrical activity into line tracings on paper and the spikes and dips in the line tracings are called waves.
The heart is a muscular pump which is made up of four chambers. The two upper chambers are the atria, and the two lower chambers are the ventricles. A natural electrical system causes the heart muscle to contract and pump blood through the heart to the lungs and the rest of the body.
An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is done to:
- Check the heart's electrical activity.
- Find the cause of unexplained chest pain, which could be caused by a heart attack, inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart (pericarditis), or angina.
- Find the cause of symptoms of heart disease, such as shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, or rapid, irregular heartbeats (palpitations).
- Find out if the walls of the heart chambers are too thick (hypertrophied).
- Check how well medicines are working and whether they are causing side effects that affect the heart.
- Check how well mechanical devices that are implanted in the heart, such as pacemakers, are working to control a normal heartbeat.
- Check the health of the heart when other diseases or conditions are present, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cigarette smoking, diabetes, or a family history of early heart disease.
This procedure is available at our main Sarasota campus as well as our Wauchula and Arcadia locations.
Learn more about Echocardiogram (EKG)