Amaury Hernández

Hospitalization - EKG & X-ray

An electrocardiograph (EKG) records the electrical activity of the heartbeat. The test is safe and painless because the electrical impulses flow from the patient to the machine, not the other way around. A chest X ray used to be routine for any patient in the hospital.

Electrocardiograph. Electrodes are placed on the patient's wrists, ankles, and chest, and effective contact is achieved by moistening the skin with jelly before applying the electrodes. When a physician is faced with an EKG tracing with questionable changes, it is a great help if there are previous normal tracings for comparison. It should be emphasized that repeated EKG tests do not imply that there is something seriously wrong with your heart.

X-ray Photographs.  Today, there is evidence that routine chest X rays performed on people under the age of thirty with no respiratory or cardiac symptoms are no longer justified. The amount of radiation received during a chest X ray is negligible, but any unnecessary exposure to radiation is now avoided.

X-ray photographs of the stomach, the bowel, the gall bladder, and the kidneys demand special techniques, and the patient has to be prepared beforehand. The stomach and intestine must be completely empty, because any food that is retained reduces the equality and clarity of the X ray. The patient must fast for at least half a day before the X ray. He or she is also given laxatives followed by an enema to clear the large intestine.

For a stomach and bowel X ray, the patient has to drink a thick, chalky liquid known as a barium meal. It is completely flavorless. The patient lies down for the X ray and may have to wait long intervals between films to allow the barium to move through the system before another organ is outlined.

For a kidney X ray, known as an IVP (intravenous pyelogram), the patient is given a small injection. A similar procedure may be used before X-raying the gall bladder.

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