ECGs And Pacemakers

Question 1

What are action potentials?

Answer 1

Action potentials are electrical signals that control the heart muscle

Question 2

What does an ECG (electrocardiogram) do?

Answer 2

And ECG measures the changing electrical signal in the heart

Question 3

What does an ECG show?

Answer 3

And ECG shows if a heartbeat is normal and can allow doctors to diagnose problems with the patients heart. And abnormal heartbeat may be irregular or have an unusual rhythm, for example unusual defects like a prolonged ST complex.

Question 4

What is pulse rate measured in?

Answer 4

BPM (beats per minute)

Question 5

What is the purpose of an artificial pacemaker?

Answer 5

A pacemaker is used to monitor the heart and detect irregular heartbeats. If an irregular heart beat is detected the pacemaker produces electrical signals to correct the heart rate.

Question 6

What does a pulse oximeter do?

Answer 6

Pulse oximeters measure the amount of oxygen in the blood. They also measure the pulse rate

Question 7

How does a pulse oximeter work?

Answer 7

Two light sources. One is infrared and the other one is visible red light. Blood carrying a lots of oxygen (oxygenated blood) absorbs more infrared light because it is a different colour from the deoxygenated blood. This difference allows the amount of oxygen in the blood to be calculated