Author:- Mr. Ritesh Sharma
The journey of EKGs is a fascinating subject to study. Cardiac care is filled to the brim with innovative diagnostic tools that detect a variety of heart abnormalities ranging from something fleeting as heart palpitations to something persistent cardiac arrhythmias. While many innovations come and go in this realm, one innovation has been sustaining for the last 100 years, i.e. electrocardiogram or ECG/ EKG. EKG has been prevalent in the domain of healthcare since the early 20th century. Now, in 2024, this technology stands tall as a gift in the screening of a heart patient with new and cutting-edge innovations taking its quality to a different stature.
However, the EKG as we see it today, wasn’t always like this. The journey of ECG from the early 20th century to the latest 21st century has been something to behold. The electrocardiogram device was first thought of in the late 19th century back in the 1880s. So, how was the journey of ECG spanning from the 19th century to now in 2024? Let’s find out in detail in this blog.
The Electrocardiogram History
Let’s start from the very beginning. The history of ECG is a fascinating interplay of various scientific experiments playing the game of trial and error. However, the genius mind who started it all was a British physiologist called Augustus Waller. Waller invented a capillary electrometer back in 1887. This electrometer was used to record the heart’s activity. This was the first time cardiac electrical activity was recorded and detected.
Just a few years after this groundbreaking invention, the Dutch physiologist and Nobel prize winner Willem Einthoven decided to improve on this capillary electrometer and coined a fresh term called an electrocardiogram. Einthoven not only coined this new term but also created a formula that made it possible to describe, name, and distinguish between cardiac deflections. This was called the P-wave, the QRS complex, and the T-wave (PQRST).
Journey of EKGs: The Clinical Use of an ECG Test
In the first decade of the 20th century the journey of EKGs took its first leap, i.e. the 1900s, the ECG was being used in clinical settings. In 1909, the test helped diagnose the first case of cardiac arrhythmia. Just a year after this, the test started detecting the indicators of a heart attack. To this day, the modern ECG performs the same core functions that it used to do 100 years ago. However, with technological advancements, it can detect most heart abnormalities and its design has gotten sleeker and more user-friendly over the years.
Diagnosis by Modern-Day ECG
While the old ECG detected arrhythmias of different arrhythmia classifications as well as heart attacks, the modern-day ECG can detect a multitude of heart abnormalities. Some of these heart abnormalities are as follows:-
- Coronary disease
- Coronary occlusion
- Cardiomyopathy
- Pericarditis or myocarditis
- Previous heart attacks and cardiac arrest
- Imbalances in electrolytes that control heart activity
Even the physical size of the device has gotten smaller and sleeker over time. The electrocardiogram device in the 20th century weighed about 600 pounds and needed 5 people to operate. However, the traditional electrocardiogram device in today’s time weighs about 8 pounds and can be operated by a single person. Furthermore, with the invention of the portable ECG device, the screening test is being conducted on a device that weighs about 12 to 14 grams. This underscores the incredible journey of EKGs.
Why ECG is so Important in Cardiac Care Today?
The importance of ECG in cardiac care today can simply not be overstated. The modern-day ECG competently measures the electrical activity of the human heart over a period of time. The device easily detects P-wave ECG abnormalities, QRS complex abnormalities, and T-wave abnormalities to identify various heart disorders. The following points elucidate the importance of ECG in the domain of cardiac care today:
- Detection by ECG: ECGs play a crucial role in promptly detecting heart rate, and rhythm, and assessing cardiac function, aiding in various cardiac diagnoses and clinical events.
- Speed of Modern-Day ECG: Speed is a significant advantage of ECGs, allowing for immediate diagnostic insight without waiting for lab reports or imaging results.
- Early Diagnosis and Intervention: Early diagnosis and intervention are critical, especially in cases like differentiating angina, STEMI, and NSTEMI, potentially saving lives.
- Point of Care Diagnosis: Point-of-care diagnostic insight helps providers make more confident diagnoses, reducing unnecessary invasive procedures like cath activation.
- ECG in Office Settings: ECGs in office settings provide baseline readings for future reference if patients develop cardiac symptoms.
- Cost Reduction and Minimal Human Errors: Optimally functioning ECGs contribute to cost reduction, minimizing human error, and saving time, crucial during COVID-19 labor and resource shortages.
- Importance of ECGs during the Pandemic: ECGs have been beneficial during the pandemic by informing heart-related complications of COVID-19 with minimal patient-provider contact.
The Future Trends of ECGs
Future trends suggest further journey of EKGs, including digitization, AI advancements for machine learning interpretations, and remote cardiac monitoring through wearables and smartwatches. These innovations support decentralized care, facilitating early detection and treatment of cardiac events and conditions. The 21st century’s ECG story emphasizes real-time diagnosis capabilities from anywhere, changing cardiology and modern medicine positively. Furthermore, with the innovation of portable ECG devices, taking an ECG test has become easier than ever.
These devices let you take an ECG test at home or on the go at your own convenience. The future trends of ECG devices suggest an exponential enhancement in the overall quality of the ECG devices which will make taking an ECG test a cakewalk in the future.
In conclusion, the journey of ECGs is a string of staggering medical innovations that broke new ground in the domain of healthcare. The ECG as we see it today would be nothing without the substantial contributions from Augustus Waller, Willem Einthoven, and all other genius minds. Now even imagining cardiac care without ECG is impossible. This illustrates the stupendous journey of this diagnostic tool starting from scratch to greatness.