An electrocardiogram technician (also known as cardiographic technician, ECG tech or EKG tech) is a member of the health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 team whose primary duty is the performance of electrocardiogram

Electrocardiogram

Electrocardiography is a transthoracic interpretation of the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by electrodes attached to the outer surface of the skin and recorded by a device external to the body...

s on patients. An electrocardiogram (often abbreviated EKG or ECG) measures the electrical activity of the heart and can be used to diagnose a range of heart disease

Heart disease

Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

s.

The process of taking an ECG involves attaching a series of electrode

Electrode

An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit...

s to the patient's chest and limbs, and printing a recording on the ECG machine for interpretation. It takes approximately 5 minutes to record a diagnostic ECG.

Advanced ECG roles

The role of the ECG tech is expanding in the hospital setting. Cardiographic technicians with advanced training are important in exercise ECG testing

Stress test

Stress test may refer to:*Stress Test , an episode of Brandy and Mr Whiskers*Stress testing, a form of testing that is used to determine the stability of a given system or entity*Stress testing , determines the robustness of software...

 Ambulatory BP and in Holter monitor

Holter monitor

In medicine, a Holter monitor is a portable device for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system for at least 24 hours...

 testing. The roles of an ECG technician in stress testing involve taking a patient history, obtaining a baseline ECG, taking initial vital sign measurements, and explaining the procedure. A number of protocols

Stress test

Stress test may refer to:*Stress Test , an episode of Brandy and Mr Whiskers*Stress testing, a form of testing that is used to determine the stability of a given system or entity*Stress testing , determines the robustness of software...

 exist for stress testing, and the technician's role involves monitoring vital sign and ECG changes while the patient undergoes protocol with increased exertion.

Holter monitor

Holter monitor

In medicine, a Holter monitor is a portable device for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system for at least 24 hours...

ing, which is a continuous cardiac recording to detect arrhythmias, or disturbances in the rhythm of the heart, also requires advanced training. The technician's role at the initiation of the test is to place electrodes on the patient's chest and attach them to a portable ECG monitor, that the patient carries. After a number of hours (24 or more) the patient returns, and the technician removes the recorded material from the ECG monitor for interpretation. This is usually a tape device. The technician also checks the quality of the recorded electrical activity and prints a report to be interpreted by the physician.

Technician run open-access stress testing has shown to be useful in resource optimization. One report has suggested that technician-reported ECG's prevent medical error by house officers

PGY

PGY, short for post-graduate year, refers to a North American numerical scheme denoting the progress of post-graduate dental, medicine, or pharmacy residents in their residency program. It is used to stratify responsibility in most training programs and to determine salary...

 in the emergency department setting.

Qualifications and licensing

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.

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in 2004, there were 45,000 employed cardiovascular technicians, with 75% of jobs in the hospital setting.