How does the physician know what an ECG means?
Almost everyone knows what a basic ECG tracing looks like. But what does it mean? • The first little upward notch of the ECG tracing is called the “P wave.” The P wave indicates that the atria (the two upper chambers of the heart) are electrically stimulated to pump blood to the ventricles. • The next part of the tracing is a short downward section connected to a tall upward section. This next part is called the “QRS complex.” This part indicates that the ventricles (the two lower chambers of the heart) are electrically stimulated to pump out blood. • The next short flat segment is called the “ST segment.” The ST segment indicates the amount of time from the end of the contraction of the ventricles to the beginning of the “T wave”. • The next upward curve is the T wave. The T wave indicates the recovery period of the ventricles. When your physician studies your ECG, he/she looks at the size and length of each part of the ECG. Variations in size and length of the different parts of the
