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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
12 Lead EKG Electrode placement in women
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12 Lead EKG Electrode placement in women
by Dave Valdes, Jul 15, 2007 12:00AM
Good day,
There are a lot of newer studies that incicate that the newer EKG machines have less of an error from the adipose tissue in the breast and that it is more important to have the leads in the correct horizontal placement than it is to place them close to the chest wall. A number of these studies indicate that you can see "Electrocardiographic changes" by placing the leads too low, when there are no actual electrocardiographic problems. Is this the "modern" way of doing ECG's?
There are a lot of newer studies that incicate that the newer EKG machines have less of an error from the adipose tissue in the breast and that it is more important to have the leads in the correct horizontal placement than it is to place them close to the chest wall. A number of these studies indicate that you can see "Electrocardiographic changes" by placing the leads too low, when there are no actual electrocardiographic problems. Is this the "modern" way of doing ECG's?
Doctor's Answer
by Forum-M.D.-ppb, Jul 15, 2007 12:00AM
EKG, in order to be accurate, must have its leads placed in the right position. It is true that, if inappropriately placed, the EKG may show false positive changes. We always make sure that our EKG technicians place the leads in the right positions in order to avoid that. More importantly, EKG is not a perfect test and if there are concerns about any significant abnormalities, examinations such as an echocardiogram can be more accurate.
