ECG for children: where can I make an electrocardiogram for a child?

Electrocardiography is a routine procedure that allows you to determine the functioning of the heart muscle. ECG children can be carried out in the first year of life. There are no contraindications for the procedure as such. Recently, even when discharged from a maternity hospital, many babies are made ECG to make sure that the child is completely healthy.

What is ECG?

The electrocardiogram has long established itself as the most informative, simple method of studying the work of the heart muscle. As a result of cardiac reduction, electrical potentials are recorded by the device. This allows you to make special sensors that are easily attached to the body. Impulses are amplified 600-700 times and they enter a device called a cardiograph. He deciphers these impulses and delivers them as a graphic on a special paper tape. The procedure is completely painless, takes a little time, is safe. Therefore, ECG children can be done at a very early age. This allows time to diagnose various dangerous diseases at the earliest possible time.

What can be learned from a cardiogram?

What does the ECG show in children? First of all, it gives an estimate of the heart rate. It also allows to reveal various disorders in metabolism, it can be a deficiency of magnesium, potassium, any other electrolytes. At the same time, serious diseases can be identified, such as:

• Congenital or acquired heart disease. Myocarditis.
• Abnormal increase (hypertrophy) of this or that department of the heart.
• Myocardial infarction.
• Angina pectoris.
• Blockade of the heart. Violation of intracardiac conduction, heart rhythm.
• Metabolic disorders caused by any pathological conditions, various diseases.
• Pulmonary embolism.

Benefits

There are cases when babies are prescribed a chest X-ray. This method is also effective in the examination, but it is most often used to confirm any disease. To learn more about the work of the heart, it is recommended that the ECG be administered to children. The advantages of this procedure are obvious. In what they consist:

• Painlessness of the procedure itself. Parents know that children with horror perceive any pain, even the kind of electrodes can cause hysteria. However, they do not cause the slightest discomfort.
• The method is very simple, it does not cause any particular strain on either the patient or the doctor.
• The procedure is inexpensive. You can go through it for free, or in a paid clinic.
• Rapidity. It will not take more than 10 minutes with all preparations. The child does not even have time to get scared. The process is sustained by any kid.
• The devices for ECG are improved every year, acquiring new functions. Decoding with the detailed description (where the complete analysis of the rhythm of the heart, rotations of the muscle around the longitudinal, transverse axis is indicated) is performed in the shortest possible time. Conclusion immediately you can get your hands on.
• Do not worry about how to find a place where the ECG is done. You can make the procedure in any clinic.

ECG features in children

Parents should know that the growing up baby has its own characteristics, at one point or another, the indicators can be different. When conducting an ECG for children, doctors certainly take this into account. So what features are characteristic for children's testimony?

• In infants, it often happens that the right ventricle predominates. Parents should not be afraid of this, this is the norm for infancy, as it grows, its size will decrease.
• The younger the child, the shorter the intervals shows the electrocardiogram.
• The size of the atrium in children is slightly larger, if compared with the proportions of adults, do not be afraid of deciphering the high tooth R.
• There is always a large number in the chest lead, so a negative tooth will appear.
• In the atrial limit, the migration of rhythm sources.
• The alternation of teeth in the ventricular complex is the norm.
• There may be an incomplete block on the right leg of the bundle.
• Normal - sinus, respiratory arrhythmia.
• There is a possibility of a deep Q wave in the third standard lead (on the thoracic).

Once the ECG procedure is carried out, you can fully learn about the work of the child's heart.

Conduction of ECG

The procedure is carried out using a modern electrocardiograph device. Special electrodes are attached to the body of the child, which perceive the electrical potentials formed in the heart, which, in turn, are recorded on paper. So how do ECG children? In practice, 12 leads are used: 6 of them are fixed to the chest with the aid of electrodes-suction cups, and the other 6 standard electrodes are superimposed on the limbs. To carry out the ECG in the child use electrodes of reduced size, they have a special shape, so as not to inflict a trauma to the skin of the baby. Some clinics use disposable suction cups, they are very soft and leave no traces. You can buy a set of disposable sensors for newborns.

Modern devices make it possible to store readings in the internal memory of the device, record them on external media, and perform initial processing. The full interpretation of the ECG, its interpretation, the delivery of the results, the doctor. Each child's testimony is individual, the options may have certain deviations, but they should not go beyond physiological norms.

How to make an ECG to a child without tears?

The procedure does not cause any pain to the baby, but children are frightened of everything new, unusual, and therefore they can often be disturbed even by the sight of suckers. If the procedure is to be delivered to the baby, it is better to carry it after feeding, while sleeping, when the baby is relaxed, inactive. Pass an ECG child without tears is quite possible. Children who already perceive what is happening, you need to prepare a little. Play with them at home in the doctor, show on the dolls a procedure, tell him what it is to go through with him. The boys respond well to the game of robots. Tell your son that he has to become a robot that will be attached to managed wiring. During the procedure, he must lie quietly, pretend to be asleep, so that the enemy of the androids does not notice him. You will see how the child will like going to the clinic, he will even want to return to play.

When an ECG is required

Statistics show that every second inhabitant of large cities applies to cardiologists. Cardiovascular diseases, sadly, are on the first place among the problems related to health. That is why all civilized countries put the procedure for ECG in infants of the first year of life as mandatory. In addition, it is necessary:

• When passing a medical examination when entering the garden, school.
• At the time of the prophylactic medical examination.
• Before classes in any sports section.
• Before the necessary operations.
• ECG should be performed regularly for chronic ENT diseases.
• After pneumonia, bronchitis, tonsillitis, to avoid complications.
• With any detection of noise in the heart.

If the baby is quickly tired with sucking, the skin around the lips becomes cyanotic, in which case it is just necessary to make an ECG to the baby. Where to do - any pediatrician will tell you. All clinics have modern equipment, which allows you to carry out this painless procedure.

Carrying out the ECG is also mandatory, if the child suddenly faints, quickly becomes tired, suffers from swelling, dizziness, pain in the heart and joints. Be sure to call a pediatric cardiologist.

Indicators

So, we are looking at the results of the child's ECG. Decoding, the rate of indicators is slightly different from the ECG of an adult patient. However, certain age characteristics of the doctor always takes into account when deciphering the indicators in children. In particular, it is the heart rate - small children under 3 years old can have such a figure from 100 to 110 beats per minute, and this is considered the norm. Over time, the heart rate decreases, and already to the pubertal period, it should give an indicator that is more equal to the adult (from 60 to 90 beats per minute).

Deciphering ECG indications in children, the doctor should note that the electrical impulses passing in the cardiac regions (in the interval of elevation P, QRS, T) have readings from 120 to 200 ms, this equates to five squares. The QRS complex provides an opportunity to know if the ventricles are activated. For this purpose, the interval between the teeth Q and S is measured, these indices should not exceed the boundary from 60 to 100 ms. Particular attention is paid to the excitation of the right ventricle (V1-V2). A pediatric cardiogram often shows that this indicator is higher than in the left one. With age, these indicators come back to normal.

The ECG chart for toddlers often shows jaggies, splits, thickenings on R-elevations. Such an indicator in an adult would indicate bradycardia or tachycardia. For children this is a normal condition.

We talked about the norms of the indicators. However, do not try to decipher the results of an electrocardiogram yourself, this issue should be handled by a highly qualified doctor.

Additional diagnostics

If the child is more than three years old, an ECG with a load is suggested for obtaining accurate results . That is, first take the reading in a calm state, and then after some activity, excitement (the baby is allowed to twist the exercise bike, jump).

If a child shows any deviations from normal indications, then the patient is referred for additional examinations. It is necessary to pass an ultrasound of the heart. Non-invasive procedure is completely painless, no traumatic means are used.

Then, using computer tomography, they identify and identify any pathologies in the work of the heart.

Conclusion - parents should strictly monitor the health of their children, and the ECG procedure should be carried out regularly, normally - once a year.