A Primary Responsibility of the Medical Assistant When Obtaining an ECG

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The Answer is · Wandering baseline: The stylus gradually shifts away from the center of the paper. It is caused by slight movement of the patient during the tracing or poor electrode attachment; it is resolved by reminding the patient to remain as still as possible and can be facilitated by maintaining patient comfort.
· Somatic tremor: This is caused by muscle movement; it shows up on the recording as jagged peaks of irregular height and spacing with a shifting baseline. The most common causes include patient discomfort, apprehension, movement, talking, or having a condition that causes uncontrollable body tremors.
· AC interference: This appears as a series of uniform small spikes on the paper. It can be minimized by making sure the ECG is plugged into a three-pronged, grounded outlet; keeping lead wires uncrossed; unplugging other electrical appliances in the room; moving the table away from the wall; and perhaps even turning off overhead fluorescent lights.
· Baseline interruption: This occurs when the electric connection has been interrupted; the stylus moves violently up and down across the paper, or it may record a straight line across the top or the bottom of the paper. It is caused by patient movement that dislodges the electrodes, a broken cable wire, or dislodged lead wires.

A Primary Responsibility of the Medical Assistant When Obtaining an ECG

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