More and more EKGs are becoming common in medical environments as increasing numbers of people are confronted with heart-related ailments. This phenomenon is expected to further grow in coming years as Baby Boomers become senior citizens and their hearts suffer the effects of time.
Electrocardiography measures the activity of the heart over a period of time using electrodes that are attached to the patient on the surface of the skin across the chest. The EKG measures regularity of heartbeats as well as the size of the individual chambers and whether any damage is present.
The EKG Technician career is facing years of solid demand that is not likely to abate anytime in the near future. With an average salary of over $30,000, an EKG technician can make a stable living providing a service that is in significant need in the community.
Operating an EKG machine is a skill that requires some degree of advanced training and academic experience. In modern times, the EKG has been a part of medical environments and familiar to many people. But few probably realize the Electrocardiogram (EKG) was actually invented in the Victorian era.
A quick EKG History:
- Alexander Muirhead is credited with the invention in 1872 of the EKG when he recorded a patient’s heartbeat using wires attached to his wrist.
- British physiologist John Burdon Sanderson introduced the Lippman capillary electrometer to the process soon after Muirhead’s initial discovery.
- In turn of the century London, August Waller used a Lippman capillary electrometer attached to a projector as an electrocardiograph. The process allowed the heartbeat to be recorded in real time for the first time.
- Willem Einthoven is credited with further developments to the science of EKG while working in the Netherlands around 1903. He invented the string galvanometer that provided a much more sensitive recording of the heartbeat.
- In 1924, Willem Einthoven wins the Nobel Prize for the invention of the electrocardiograph.
The history of the EKG continues into the 20th century with many developments taking place that made the device not only one of the most critical components of healthcare management, but one of the most affected by technological innovation. Most of the developments that have taken place in modern times have consisted of improvements that allowed the overall size of the equipment to be reduced from room-size all the way down to portable size.
For more information on the EKG, its use and history, there are numerous academic papers published online at websites for Cyber Essays free term papers. With a little research, any aspiring EKG technician can acquire a more than surface deep understanding of the profession’s history and how it applies to services today.
