Here at Executive Electrocardiogram Education, we have developed an EKG interpretation class specifically designed for current or future medical professionals. The course provides students with a grasp of the fundamentals of EKG interpretation and the practical skills for taking these EKG recordings and diagnosing common heart problems using EKG patterns in conjunction with other symptoms.
Our EKG course allows students to learn at their own pace in the privacy of their own home but provides practical benefits and professional development, opening up new career options or allowing seasoned medical professionals to refresh or broaden their knowledge.
Students can choose from various specialized EKG courses on topics including interpretation, arrhythmia, and ACLS interpretation. All of the EKG interpretation videos are created and hosted by Dr. Scott Siegal, a practicing cardiologist, and educator with more than twenty years of experience.
Who Is the Ideal Candidate For Our EKG Interpretation Class?
Our courses focus on the practical elements of EKG measurement and interpretation for anyone in the medical field or thinking about entering the medical field. This includes high school students and undergraduates interested in pre-med to nurse practitioners, medical residents, and even practicing doctors. At every level of experience and expertise, our course provides an opportunity to stand out from peers and prepare for career advancement.
Medical Residents & Students
Medical residents and medical students are learning and refining the skills that will serve them in their careers as doctors. Our EKG Interpretation classes were designed to give students and residents practice with common diagnostic situations so that they can better handle them in real-world situations. No matter how much or little experience students and residents have with EKG interpretation, our course is designed to give you the diagnostic and interpretation skills you will be able to draw on throughout your medical career.
Nurse Practitioners / NP Schools
While complete EKG interpretation may not be on the typical list of responsibilities for a nurse practitioner, it’s definitely a valuable asset. Doctors, medical staff, and patients rely heavily on nurse practitioners, so being able to react quickly in response to various medical conditions is a crucial skill to have. As such, having the ability to view and interpret EKG data could make the difference between a patient living and a patient dying.
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We make electrocardiogram interpretation simple and understandable. The videos are interactive, and have detailed, easy to follow illustrations.
Physical Therapy & Kinesiology / Schools
If you are a physical therapist, respiratory therapist (RT), kinesiologist, sports medicine practitioner, or other health professional, you need to evaluate cardiac health to assess patients before and during therapy. EKG is a powerful diagnostic tool that can detect dangerous heart conditions, such as arrhythmias, before putting patients’ lives at risk. So while you likely won’t be doing much EKG interpretation on a day-to-day basis, you have to be able to recognize arrhythmias and understand general EKG findings. You know that these skills could only be a benefit.
Nurses / Nursing Schools
The foundational and practical skills in the Executive EKG Interpretation class complement any nursing program. The flexibility and easy-to-use content management system make our institutional subscriptions an excellent way to help busy nursing students develop critical skills. This course is ideal for a nursing student or a practitioner in any of the following positions:
- Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP)
- Certified Nurse Practitioner
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
- Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), Midwife (MW)
- Certified Nurse Practitioners
High School Students and Undergraduate Students
High school students and undergraduates who aspire to be medical professionals and want to bolster their college applications can benefit from taking our EKG interpretation class. Although it might be several years before they can put what they learn into practice, it is never too early to start building a foundation for the study of medicine. It will also give them a sound basis in one of the more important topics that will arise later in their medical education.
Are Institutional EKG Interpretation Classes Available?
Institutional classes and subscriptions are available. Any interested institutions should contact us via our contact page or by email at info@ecgedu.com to find out more about how we can create a package for your institution.
EKG interpretation classes that ECGEDU offers through partnerships with high schools, universities and other institutions of learning provide twenty-four-hour access to instructional videos, quizzes, and other resources. We work with you and your institution to help set up your account, customize the course to suit your educational program, and monitor your progress in the EKG interpretation course.
If you’re unsure if our EKG interpretation course will work with your current institutional workflows, talk to our sales team or have a representative of your institution contact us to set up a program.
What Will the EKG Interpretation Course Cover?
At just over 8 hours in length, our video EKG class is brief but efficient. This class covers the basics of electrocardiography, aspects of the EKG signal, and common heart arrhythmias such as:
- fundamentals of EKG
- types of cardiac rhythms
- EKG setup and interpretation guidelines
- premature atrial complexes
- sinus and junctional bradycardia and tachycardia
- bundle branch blocks and fascicular blocks
- atrioventricular blocks and atrioventricular dissociation
- normal and abnormal axis
- EKG diagnosis of other heart conditions like pericarditis and tamponade
- pulmonary conditions that affect heart rhythms
- effects of pacemakers and drugs
Consider how practical mastery of these core topics will benefit you in your career.
Download Our Full ECG Course Syllabus
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Electrocardiogram Fundamentals
In the ECG EDU course, you will learn the basics of electrocardiography. Electrocardiography is a technique for measuring the electrical activity of the heart. Like any other muscle, the heart receives electrical impulses. The changes in electrical potential around the heart as it beats provide invaluable information about the heart’s function.
You will learn how to use the small squares and large squares on the EKG graph paper to interpret the amplitude and duration of impulses of the EKG pattern.
The course reviews the anatomy of the heart’s electrical system including the sinoatrial node (SA node), the atrioventricular node (AV node), the His-bundle, and the Purkinje fibers that send signals to the heart muscle.
This course demonstrates the proper way to place electrodes for an electrocardiogram, how to record signals from the electrodes, and how to interpret these signals. Students will learn to identify the features of a typical, healthy EKG as a baseline for identifying arrhythmias and anomalies.
Students will learn all of the components of the EKG waveforms, intervals, and EKG criteria. They will learn about P waves, Q waves, the QRS complex, and T waves. Additionally, they will learn about the PR interval, the QRS interval, and the QT interval. Since rhythms typically start in the sinus node, students will learn how to follow the rhythm through the heart and identify each wave. You will learn the importance of tall, small, and wide complexes and waves.
Most importantly, the EKG diagnoses will help you make clinical diagnoses.
Setup of EKG Leads
Ten electrodes placed on specific areas of the body give rise to a typical 12-lead EKG. You will learn about the bipolar and unipolar leads as well as the proper body placement. Students will learn the names of each lead and be able to identify them on the EKG printout.
Determining the EKG Axis
Typically, the direction of EKG activity is toward the patient’s lower left quadrant, in the direction of lead II. Deviation from normal to the upper left (left axis deviation), the lower right (right axis deviation n), or the upper right (extreme right deviation) may be signs of cardiac anomalies. Students will learn how to determine the axis and use the axis for EKG interpretation and diagnosis.
Naming and Detecting Cardiac Rhythms
All tissue in the heart is capable of generating a cardiac rhythm. Heart rhythms typically start in the sinoatrial (SA) node. If the SA node is not functioning correctly then the atrioventricular (AV) node or junction will take over. If this fails then the ventricular tissue will generate the heart rhythm. Sometimes hyper-excited tissue from the atria causes abnormal heart rhythms.
Heart rhythms are always named by where they originate and a description about the heart rate Students will learn the criteria for identifying bradycardia, tachycardia, atrial and ventricular fibrillation, and atrial and ventricular flutter as well as how to name every heart rhythm. They will learn that the terms like tachycardia refer to heart rhythms between 100 and 150 beats per minute, whereas terms like fibrillation mean the heart rate is over 350 beats per minute.
Atrial Abnormalities
The atria are the upper chambers of the heart. The right atrium receives blood from the body, while the left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs. The atrial impulse causes the atria to contract, forcing blood to the right and left ventricle. Atrial abnormalities can be recognized on an EKG.
Ventricular Hypertrophy
The ventricles are the pumping chambers of the heart. The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood to the body. Excess volume to the ventricles causes them to enlarge. Excess pressure causes the muscles of the ventricles to get thicker and hypertrophy. Students will learn the criteria to detect ventricular hypertrophy, helping them understand their patient’s conditions better.
Bundle Branch Blocks And Fascicular Blocks
Conduction into the ventricles (pumping chambers of the heart) goes through the bundle branches, fascicles, and the Purkinje fibers. The bundle branches and fascicles can be looked at as superhighways that take heart impulses from the atrioventricular (AV) node to the rest of the heart. If there are delays on these highways, then the electricity needs to take side streets. The conduction delays can be identified on an EKG. Executive Electrocardiogram Education (ecgedu.com) covers the criteria of complete and incomplete bundle branch blocks, left anterior fascicular blocks, and left posterior fascicular blocks.
Atrioventricular Blocks And Atrioventricular Dissociation
The course covers first, second, and third-degree (complete) AV blocks on EKGs. Blocks can result from atherosclerosis, or coronary artery disease as well as calcification and scarring within the heart’s conduction system. Recognizing these blocks is an essential part of reading an EKG. ECGedu.com teaches the changes seen in the PR interval, P to P interval, and RR interval that are integral to making these diagnoses on the electrocardiogram.
Ischemia, Injury, and Infarction
If the heart does not get enough oxygen, then cardiac muscle damage occurs. Distinct EKG changes then happen. You might see isolated T wave inversion reflecting ischemia. If there is further damage to the heart muscle then the ST segments may elevate or become depressed. If heart muscle infarcts and dies, then Q waves develop. The timing of a heart attack is told by the ST and T waves. This course teaches how to distinguish reversible myocardial ischemia, from a more serious non-reversible muscle injury, from the death of myocardial muscle. Additionally, you will be able to distinguish if these conditions are acute (happening right now), recent (occurred within 24 hours), age-undetermined (occurred hours to months ago), or old (occurred months to years ago). Damage to heart muscle also affects the conduction system and makes patients prone to abnormal heart rhythms.
ST and T Wave Changes
ST and T wave changes occur due to many reasons. Learn about heart muscle injury, heart attacks, effects from medications, effects from electrolyte abnormalities, and non-specific changes.
Normal And Abnormal Rhythms
In this course, we will discuss the standard sinus rhythm and contrast it with a plethora of abnormal rhythms that occur as the result of heart disease.
The QT Interval
A prolonged or short QT interval is a risk factor for certain arrhythmias. This course teaches the proper measurement of the QT interval and how to calculate the corrected QT interval.
Systemic Abnormalities, Electrolyte Abnormalities and Drug Effects
This course covers the EKG changes of acute and chronic systemic disease. Learn about electrocardiographic changes of pericarditis, pulmonary disease, and Brugada’s syndrome. You will learn to recognize the effects of potassium abnormalities (hypokalemia and hyperkalemia) and calcium abnormalities (hypocalcemia and hypercalcemia). Grasp the ECG changes from digoxin toxicity, antiarrhythmic agents like amiodarone, or antibiotics.
Interpretation of EKG Components (Waves, Complexes, and Intervals)
The EKG course discusses changes in the P waves (atrial depolarization), the QRS complex (ventricular depolarization), and T waves (ventricular repolarization). Additionally, ecgedu.com examines the P wave axis, the QRS axis, and the T wave axis. You will discover which conditions alter these axes and causing left axis deviation, right axis deviation, and extreme right axis deviation (aka superior axis). The course will review the link between QT interval and:
- Deficiencies in, calcium, and potassium
- Drugs, including some antibiotics that affect heart rhythms and produce abnormal heart rates.
- Heart attacks, heart failure, and increased intracranial pressure
Download Our Full ECG Course Syllabus
Enter your email address and we will send you a copy of our course syllabus and ECG-At-A-Glance.
Effects of WPW, Lead Reversal, And Pacemakers
The ECG EDU course discusses some circumstances that produce atypical heart rhythms and how to recognize them.
Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is a disorder that causes a fluttering heartbeat and light-headedness. It results from an abnormal conductance from the atria to the ventricles without passing through the AV node.
If the placement of the electrodes for the EKG is in the reverse position (for instance, the left and right leads are reversed), the EKG will look abnormal. . Practitioners should be able to recognize this so that they do not misdiagnose the patient and can be sure to set up the EKG correctly and redo the test.
Guidelines To EKG Interpretation
Learning EKG criteria is crucial, but it is more important to learn an organized method to reading EKGs. ECGedu.com teaches this important skill. You will learn a step-by-step, systematic approach to interpreting EKGs. Students will be able to gauge their performance and master EKG interpretation. By the end of this 39 chapter course, students will feel proficient and comfortable. More material is developed regularly to provide ongoing EKG practice, once the initial skills are obtained.
EKG Samples & EKG Practice Tests
We understand that regular reinforcement makes learning complex concepts easier. As such, we provide our students with EKG samples and EKG practice tests to hone their skills.
New EKGs with expert interpretation come out monthly. This allows for regular practice. The practice EKGs are taken from real patients seen in the office, and hospital. Some are fairly routine, but others contain life-threatening or interesting conditions and pathology.
How Will This EKG Interpretation Course Benefit You?
This course has helped people in a wide range of medical career paths achieve higher standards of cardiac diagnostics and cardiac care. Here are some of the main benefits you should expect to receive from this EKG class.
Practical Skills
The ECG EDU course gives you first-hand experience interpreting real EKGs. The videos demonstrate proper EKG lead placement and operation of the EKG equipment. The techniques you learn in these videos apply to real-world diagnostic situations. The skills taught in this course help students prepare for written and practical examinations.
Confidence
The practical skills that you pick up from this EKG interpretation course will allow you to confidently identify many cardiac conditions quickly so that you can respond with lifesaving treatment and accurate diagnoses. You do not just memorize minutia, but actually learn why these conditions cause the changes on the electrocardiogram. You learn pattern recognition to make EKG reading easy and efficient.
Opening Career Opportunities
After completion of Executive Electrocardiogram Education’s EKG interpretation course, you will have a record of your mastery of EKG interpretation. A Certificate of completion can be printed and given to your institution. You can also submit this course for Category 2 continuing medical education credits (CME) for both the American Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association. Category 1 credit will be available soon. These credits could contribute to certification, and recertification in certain organizations, and allow you to demonstrate clinical competency to your institutions.
Sign Up And Learn EKG Interpretation Today!
Whatever stage you are at in your career as a medical provider, it is not too early or too late to add EKG interpretation skills to your resume and professional toolkit. Signing up for our EKG interpretation classes online is easy to do. We offer a wide range of courses and course combinations so that you can select a course option that works best for you and your schedule. Click here to see our pricing options or contact us today to learn more.
