ECG, heart movie

You can contact us to preform an ECG, also called heart movie. Many times you will hear people call this procedure an EKG.

What is an ECG?

An ECG is an abbreviation for Electrocardiogram. It's the squiggly line or lines you will see on monitors like the picture the right. Since it is easier to say ECG or EKG this is what many people call it. With an ECG we can visibly see the functioning of the heart in the form of an electrical representation on a monitor or graph paper. The heart is a hollow muscle when a contraction occurs blood pumped through the body. This really is observed or recorded as electrical signals. These electrical signals can be measured with an ECG machine or monitored in real time. Changes in heart muscle (ECG size) are also diagnosed with the ECG. ECG test also identify many but not all abnormalities of the heart. An ECG in and of itself is not always conclusive and must be evaluated by a trained veterinary provider for proper interpretation, diagnosis and treatment plan. Sugar House Veterinary Hospital provides complete cardiovascular care in salt lake city and  performs ECG services on dogs, cats, and other animals. If you have a concern  about your pets heart health, please give a call or make an appointment with us today at (801) 487- 9981.

When do we perform an ECG?

Complaints that are indicative of heart problems are usually first diagnosed when your doctor listens to your pets heart in the physical examination. When you doctors hears these sounds, we recommend an ECG to be performed on your pet. But in the context of our position on  prevention and preventative care in certain pet varieties, some animals are predisposed to an increased risk of heart problems for numerous reasons (genetics, breeding to name a few) and should be screened for these abnormalities.

How do we make an ECG?

Performing an ECG is generally not stressful for your pet. Dogs sometimes have a little hair clipped for lead placement at times. You can and are many times encouraged to remain with your pet as this helps your pet to be at ease with the procedure. The entire operation takes no longer than a minute or two. The ECG is immediately visible on the computer and or recorded on paper for evaluation.

Who evaluates the ECG?

Large deviations, we can directly observe, however, we always send the ECG to a specialist for definitive evaluation. We then get a interpretation  of the cardiology specialist. The cost is included in the ECG.

And what if an abnormality is found?

Of course we hope that this is not the case but if there is something found, a drug treatment may be advised. In some cases, further research is needed in the form of an ultrasound or X-rays to further isolate the precise disorder.