I have been working in the Cardiology department for two months and have never been across some of the medical terminologies before. One day, I was in the care facility I work in, and a patient came with a doctor’s prescription in his hands. He wanted me to give him information about the diagnostic tests prescribed by the specialist doctor. I read the prescription and felt embarrassed because I also did not know about those terminologies. Here are the two terminologies I researched afterwards, and I am now able to understand and recognize them on prescriptions as well as any research article, website, journal, or other healthcare document.
ECG
ECG or Electrocardiogram is a diagnostic test that uses ultrasound waves. This test is conducted to create detailed images of the heart and its structures. In my research on ECG, I learnt how to analyze and interpret ECG recordings to diagnose cardiac diseases and abnormalities. This test involves placing electrodes on the body to detect and record the electrical impulses that occur as the heart beats. By placing small electrodes on the body, the ECG machine reads and records the electrical signals the heart is generating with every beat. These electrical signals are then displayed on a graph in the form of wave-like movements, which provides valuable information about the function and health of the heart (Biel et al., 2001). For someone outside the healthcare field, like my family, friends, relatives, or classmates, I would explain that an electrocardiogram is a medical procedure that measures the heart’s electrical activity as it beats to detect abnormalities.
Angiogram
The second terminology that was on the prescription I knew nothing about was Angiogram. In simpler words, it is a diagnostic procedure that uses X-rays and also involves the injection of contrast dye in the artery to visualize the blood vessels in the heart in order to evaluate the patency and anatomy of the blood vessels. An Angiogram procedure allows healthcare professionals to assess the narrowing or presence of blockages in the coronary arteries. If blockage is present in the coronary artery, this indicates the presence of cardiovascular disease (Galbraith et al., 1978). After having the information regarding Angiogram, I am now able to convey to any person outside of the healthcare field that an Angiogram is a minimally invasive procedure that uses X-ray imaging while a contrast dye is injected into the artery to visualize blood vessels in order to evaluate whether there is a blockage or narrowing of the artery. I would also tell them that this test is often used to diagnose conditions such as peripheral arterial disease or coronary artery disease.
References
Biel, L., Pettersson, O., Philipson, L., & Wide, P. (2001). ECG analysis: A new approach in human identification. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 50(3), 808–812.
Galbraith, J. E., Murphy, M. L., & de Soyza, N. (1978). Coronary angiogram interpretation: Interobserver variability. Jama, 240(19), 2053–2056.
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