Difference Between ECG And EKG

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ECG and EKG are two abbreviations which usually confuse a lot of people. Some people argue that they are the same thing while others think that they are different. Well, let it be clear to you now. ECG and EKG actually refer to the same thing, there is no difference between them. Both of them are abbreviations which refer to an elec-trocardiogram.

What is an electrocardiogram?
An electrocardiogram is a biosensor which is used to measure the electrical activity of the heart. With the aid of algorithms, an electrocardiogram can interpret the data it has collected about the heart’s electrical activity and give actionable insight about one’s health.

A healthy heart usually beats at a certain rhythm. An electrocardiogram records and displays the patterns in which one’s heart beats. This information can then be used by medical personnel to determine if there are abnormalities in one’s heart rhythm or not. Irregular patterns such as that which is too slow or too fast usually indicate that the heart has abnormal electrical activity.

Electrocardiograms are used to detect conditions which affect the heart like thicken-ing of cardiac walls, irregular heartbeat, and any potential damage to the muscles or tissues of the heart. Electrocardiogram tests are usually performed by electrocardio-gram technicians.

Why are ECG and EKG used as abbreviations for the same word?
You may be wondering why ECG and EKG are two different abbreviations yet both refer to the same thing. The reason an electrocardiogram has the two different ab-breviations ECG and EKG is because of language differences. Language plays a ma-jor part in the use of these two abbreviations. ECG (electrocardiogram) is the Eng-lish version of the German word elektrokardiogramm (EKG). The abbreviation used therefore depends on one’s preference as both terms are medically acceptable.

In America, the abbreviation EKG is the one that is mostly used between the two abbreviations when referring to an electrocardiogram. In the UK however, it’s ECG that is widely used to refer to an electrocardiogram. Other countries apart from America also tend to favor the use of the ECG abbreviation. No matter the abbrevi-ation used, what’s most important is that both ECG and EKG serve the same pur-pose of measuring the heart’s electrical activity.

ECG or EKG testing procedure
ECG or EKG test is usually a painless procedure. It is also not invasive and it only takes a few minutes to be completed. The procedure normally takes about 5 to 10 minutes only.

During an ECG or EKG procedure, a patient is made to lie down flatly on a bed or a table and is asked to remain as still as possible. The electrocardiogram technician then attaches small stickers known as electrodes to the patient’s limbs and chest and connects these stickers to the electrocardiogram machine. The electrodes will then collect information pertaining to the electrical activity of the patient’s heart and transmit them to the electrocardiogram machine. Once the procedure is done, the electrocardiogram technician prints out the collected information on a sheet and gives the sheet to the patient to take to the physician for interpretation.

What specific information does the electrocardiogram machine reveal?
The electrocardiogram machine usually reveals information pertaining to the heart’s electrical activity. Such information may specifically include things like the heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing index, and heart age among other cardiac-related factors.

Electrocardiograms have mostly always been available only in medical settings like hospitals and diagnostic laboratories but with the evolving technology, this is changing. Electrocardiograms are now also being manufactured in the form of wear-able technologies like watches and some others.

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