ECG

Medical abbreviation · Cardiology

ECG stands for Electrocardiogram, a cardiology abbreviation.

Recording of the heart's electrical activity from electrodes on the skin, the most widely performed cardiac test. A standard 12-lead ECG uses 10 electrodes, takes under a minute and reveals rhythm disturbances, conduction blocks, heart attacks in progress, chamber enlargement and electrolyte effects.

Example: Repeat ECG 30 minutes later shows new T-wave inversion in V2 to V4.

Usage notes

ECG is the international and British form, while EKG remains common in the United States; both are spoken letter by letter and also name the printed tracing itself. Willem Einthoven built the first practical string-galvanometer machine in the early 1900s and received the 1924 Nobel Prize for it. Standard paper runs at 25 mm per second, so each small 1 mm box equals 40 milliseconds.

Related abbreviations

More cardiology abbreviations

• DBP – Diastolic blood pressure
• DCCV – Direct current cardioversion
• DCM – Dilated cardiomyopathy
• DES – Drug-eluting stent
• DSE – Dobutamine stress echocardiogram
• DVT – Deep vein thrombosis
• echo – Echocardiogram
• ECMO – Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
• EF – Ejection fraction
• EKG – Electrocardiogram
• EP – Electrophysiology
• EPS – Electrophysiology study

See all 229 cardiology abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.