Abstract
In patients with chest pain or suspected heart disease (IHD/CAD), the electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the principle investigations at the time of presentation. The ECG is a graph obtained when the electrical potentials of an electrical field originating in the heart are recorded at the surface of the body [1–3]. Once the electrical activity is detected it is amplified, displayed on the screen/ monitor and finally recorded on a paper chart [1–3]. In general, the ECG records depolarisation (P wave and QRS complex) and repolarisation (ST segment, T wave and U wave) of the heart. The advantages of the ECG are (a) it is an independent marker of myocardial disease, and (b) it detect haemodynamic, anatomical, electrolyte and drug induced abnormalities [1–3]. Although the ECG is useful in the initial stages of chest pain investigation, it has severe limitations.
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Buscombe, J., Gnanasegaran, G., Bashir, H. (2009). Electrocardiography and Exercise Stress Test. In: Movahed, A., Gnanasegaran, G., Buscombe, J., Hall, M. (eds) Integrating Cardiology for Nuclear Medicine Physicians. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78674-0_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78674-0_8
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