EKG Reading Activity

Directions With a partner, review the following patients EKG’s and answer the questions about each. Complete the review questions individually State Standard **Describe each part of the conduction system of the heart and its related function. Interpret an electrocardiograph (ECG) of a normal sinus rhythm, identifying the P, Q, R, S, and T waves with an explanation of the electrical and mechanical event of each. Identify ECG strips with explanation of sinus, junctional, and ventricular arrhythmias.

EKG Lead Placement You will be provided sticky notes to simulate EKG pads. Research the proper positioning of the EKG pads to obtain an EKG reading. Place the “EKG” pads on your partners chest in the correct spot. Then determine what color EKG wire would go with each EKG pad. (RED, BLACK, BROWN, WHITE, GREEN) Color a circle on each sticky note to indicate what color line would be connected to it. Come up with a pneumonic to remember what color goes where.

What is the Heart Rate for these patients? Patient A

Patient B

Patient C

Patient D

Review Questions What should a patients normal heart rate be? What is the medical name for too fast of a heart rate? What is the medical term for too slow of a heart rate? Go back and label the patient’s EKG strips with the correct medical terms for rate.

Draw this EKG and label each wave correctly. Patient E

Arrhythmias The following slides will contain different Heart Arrhythmias. Complete these questions, and the questions for each arrhythmia. Questions What is an arrhythmia? In what parts of the heart can arrhythmias occur?

Can you spot what is wrong with the top line of this EKG? Patient F

Questions The part of the EKG that is missing in the previous sample of patient F, represents what phase of the cardiac cycle? Possible causes of this missing component are atrial fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia. What happens in each of these conditions? What is it causing the heart to not do? What symptoms might someone experience with these?

Patient G What waves are missing/malformed in this EKG?

Questions What waves were missing or malformed in this EKG? This condition is called ventricular fibrillation (v-fib). Research this condition and explain what is happening in V-fib. What has to be done to treat this disorder? Is this an emergency situation? What is the heart unable to do while this is happening?