EKG Administration Flashcards
6 cards from real CCMA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 EKG Administration flashcards as text
What does the P wave on an ECG represent?
Answer: Atrial depolarization
The P wave represents the electrical depolarization of the atria, which initiates atrial contraction.
A heart rate of 52 beats per minute would be classified as:
Answer: Bradycardia
Bradycardia is defined as a resting heart rate below 60 beats per minute.
Which artifact on an ECG is caused by the patient's muscle movement or shivering?
Answer: Somatic muscle artifact
Somatic muscle artifact is caused by voluntary or involuntary muscle movement (trembling, shivering, Parkinson's tremor) and appears as irregular, erratic baseline movement.
On ECG graph paper, what does each small square represent in time?
Answer: 0.04 seconds
On standard ECG graph paper run at 25 mm/sec, each small (1 mm) square equals 0.04 seconds (40 milliseconds) in the horizontal (time) axis.
Before applying ECG electrodes, the medical assistant should prepare the patient's skin by:
Answer: Cleaning the skin with alcohol, drying it, and clipping chest hair if necessary
Skin preparation for ECG involves removing oils and dead skin cells with alcohol, ensuring the skin is dry, and clipping (not shaving) excessive chest hair to improve electrode contact.
In a normal ECG, what does the QRS complex represent?
Answer: Ventricular depolarization
The QRS complex represents ventricular depolarization — the electrical activation of the ventricles causing ventricular contraction (systole).