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Electrocardiography
The electrocardiography is a technique of recording the bio-electric currents generated by
the heart. The graphical display of this recording is called electrocardiogram. The
acronym ECG, refers in general to both electrocardiogram and electrocardiography.
Sometimes, the acronym EKG is used instead of ECG. For more than one hundred years,
the ECG has been used to reveal the condition of the heart and to diagnose cardiac
illnesses. This has been possible because the cardiac muscle cells generate bio-currents
which can be detected inside the body or on its surface using some special electrodes.
Unlike the bio-currents generated by some other muscles, the currents generated by the
heart muscles are periodic, that is, they consist of a repeated sequence of characteristic
waveforms
which
correspond
to
a
heart
beat.
This short tutorial on electrocardiography presents the basic principles underlying this
medical technique. Being written by an engineer and not a physician, this introduction to
electrocardiography tutorial is mainly focused on the technical aspects of the
electrocardiography and provides only a brief introduction to the physiology of heart and
the medical interpretation of the electrocardiographic signals.