page_title: Cardiovascular technologist
section_title: EKG technicians
hierarchical_section_title: Cardiovascular technologist / EKG technicians
caption_attribution_description: English: A 12-lead electrocardiogram showing normal sinus rhythm. Trace was created using a signal generator.
context_page_description: Cardiovascular technologists are health professionals that deal with the circulatory system.
context_section_description: Cardiovascular technicians who obtain EKGs are known as electrocardiograph (or EKG) technicians. To take a basic EKG, which traces electrical impulses transmitted by the heart, technicians attach electrodes to the patient's chest, arms, and legs, and then manipulate switches on an EKG machine to obtain a reading. An EKG is printed out for interpretation by the physician. This test is done before most kinds of surgery or as part of a routine physical examination, especially on persons who have reached middle age or who have a history of cardiovascular problems.
  EKG technicians with advanced training setup Holter monitor and stress testing. For Holter monitoring, technicians place electrodes on the patient's chest and attach a portable EKG monitor to the patient's belt. Following 24 or more hours of normal activity by the patient, the technician removes a tape from the monitor and places it in a scanner. After checking the quality of the recorded impulses on an electronic screen, the technician usually prints the information from the tape for analysis by a physician. Physicians use the output from the scanner to diagnose heart ailments, such as heart rhythm abnormalities or problems with pacemakers.
  For a treadmill stress test, EKG technicians document the patient's medical history, explain the procedure, connect the patient to an EKG monitor, and obtain a baseline reading and resting blood pressure. Next, they monitor the heart's performance while the patient is walking on a treadmill, gradually increasing the treadmill's speed to observe the effect of increased exertion.
  The position is generally unlicensed and skills are learned on the job; however, two- and four-year training programs to learn advanced ECG technical skills are available at junior colleges and community colleges.
caption: An electrocardiogram technician can have many roles in the hospital, based around the recording of electrocardiograms, as depicted here
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