A Faint EKG?

[Janelle101]

So, I went to the Science Museum, and they had a sort of ekg monitor. It could basically monitor your hearbeat if you put your hands on the metal bars.
Both my mom and my brother tried it, and you could clearly see their hearbeat go up and down.
But when I tried it (a couple of times, in fact), my hearbeat was sort of faint, it didn't really go up and down as much. It was small.
So I was wondering what it could be...
Might I add, I am a teenager. Also, I don't have very favorable genes in the heart area. My mom almost died as an infant from a heart complication, and my grandma on my dad's side has high blood pressure and has been hospitalized because of heart problems.
So could anyone help?
Maybe I have nothing to worry about, but still.

Thanks!

[Jerry_NJ]

I have found the pulse detectors on exercise equipment that you hold on to with your hands don't work well of me some times.  I'm sure my heart is working just the same, but my hands for some reason are too dry, or hard, or wet.  I don't know, but I'm sure the problem is the interface, not my heart.  

[Brooke_38]

Hello...

I'm not sure that I would put much trust in a piece of equipment that is used by thousands of people. Was the measurment for beats per minute? An EKG is an electrocardiogram. This measures the way the electricity is being conducted through your heart.

Have you ever been evaluated for anything related to your heart? As for your mom, I can only guess that this was most likely related to a congenital defect (something she was born with)

I am sure that you being as young as you are...a spring chicken...Your parents make sure that you have regular check ups. I really don't think that you should worry over something that was meant to be fun, but in turn created uncertainty or anxiety. You can measure your own pulse, I would trust results of this to be more accurate.

I hope that you feel some bit of relief and get back enjoying your teen years:)