The Electrocardiograph Chapter 3 Exam Questions

Electrocardiography for Healthcare Professionals, 5e (Booth)

Chapter 3 The Electrocardiograph

1) The ECG waveform is indicative of:

A) how the heart is functioning electrically.

B) abnormal heart valve conditions.

C) the contraction of heart muscles.

D) the heart's pumping capability.

2) The Einthoven triangle is formed by the following three limb leads:

A) right arm, left arm, right leg.

B) right leg, left arm, left leg.

C) right arm, left arm, left leg.

D) right leg, left leg, right arm.

3) Which of the following is not a type of lead used in a 12-lead ECG?

A) Bipolar

B) Unipolar

C) Chest

D) Abdomen

4) Which of the following is not considered a bipolar lead?

A) Lead I

B) Lead II

C) aVR

D) Lead III

5) The V1 lead should be placed at the:

A) fourth intercostal space, left sternal border.

B) fifth intercostal space at the midclavicular line.

C) fifth intercostal space, midaxillary line.

D) fourth intercostal space, right sternal border.

6) For the proper placement of V3, you must have placed which other two leads on the patient's chest?

A) V2 and V4

B) V2 and V5

C) V5 and V4

D) V4 and V6

7) Unipolar leads include all the lead types except:

A) standard leads.

B) augmented leads.

C) chest leads.

D) precordial leads.

8) To obtain a 12-lead ECG tracing, you must apply how many lead wires and electrodes to the patient?

A) 8

B) 12

C) 10

D) 3

9) The V2 lead should be placed at the:

A) fourth intercostal space, left sternal border.

B) fifth intercostal space at the midclavicular line.

C) fifth intercostal space, midaxillary line.

D) fourth intercostal space, right sternal border.

10) The leads that make up a 12-lead ECG consist of:

A) 6 standard, 3 augmented, and 3 chest leads.

B) 3 standard, 3 augmented, and 6 chest leads.

C) 6 augmented, 3 standard, and 3 chest leads.

D) 4 augmented, 4 standard, and 4 chest leads.

11) Which of the following is not a basic function of the electrocardiograph?

A) Input

B) Signal processing

C) Output display

D) Analysis

12) Signal processing, which occurs inside the ECG machine,

A) amplifies the electrical impulse.

B) directs impulses to the ECG instrument.

C) notifies the operator of input errors.

D) provides an initial interpretation of the tracing.

13) The most commonly used paper speed on the ECG machine is:

A) 40 mm/sec.

B) 25 mm/sec.

C) 10 mm/sec.

D) 50 mm/sec.

14) The gain control is normally set at:

A) 10 mm/mV.

B) 20 mm/mV.

C) 5 mm/mV.

D) 25 mm/mV.

15) Often it is difficult to read the ECG tracing if a patient's heart rate is fast. Where should you set the speed control to be able to interpret the ECG tracing more easily?

A) 15 mm/sec

B) 25 mm/sec

C) 50 mm/sec

D) 100 mm/sec

16) The usual setting for the artifact filter is:

A) 10 to 20 Hz.

B) 20 to 40 Hz.

C) 40 to 150 Hz.

D) 100 to 250 Hz.

17) You are preparing to conduct a 12-lead ECG on a patient. As you are gathering your supplies, you notice that five of the electrodes are made by one company and the other five electrodes are made by another company. What is your next step?

A) Conduct the 12-lead ECG with the electrodes present.

B) Find a complete set of 10 electrodes that are the same.

C) Tell your immediate supervisor that you couldn't conduct the 12-lead ECG procedure.

D) Tell the patient to come back at another time when you have all the equipment.

18) Which type of electrode is preferred for use in a hospital or acute care setting?

A) Disposable electrodes

B) Plastic electrodes

C) Silver electrodes

D) Copper electrodes

19) The ECG graph paper represents time horizontally and voltage vertically. What time and voltage are represented by one large box?

A) 0.04 second and 0.1 mV

B) 0.20 second and 0.5 mV

C) 1 second and 0.4 mV

D) 0.5 second and 0.2 mV

20) You are performing a 12-lead ECG on a hospital patient using a portable ECG machine on a cart. As you are conducting the ECG, a red line appears at the bottom of the ECG graph paper. What should you do?

A) Stop the ECG and check the placement of the electrodes.

B) Continue the ECG, but remember to replace the paper before performing the next ECG.

C) Stop the ECG and replace the paper, then resume conducting the ECG.

D) Continue the ECG, but make a note on the ECG tracing that the patient moved during the recording.

21) Each little box on the ECG paper horizontally represents:

A) 0.04 second.

B) 0.20 second.

C) 1 mV.

D) 1 second.

22) Which of the following is an advantage of using dot matrix paper instead of the standard grid paper?

A) Dot matrix paper is a heat-transfer paper that does not require ink.

B) Dot matrix paper is less expensive than standard grid paper.

C) Dot matrix paper produces sharper photocopies than standard grid paper.

D) Dot matrix paper is more readily available than standard grid paper.

23) Which of the following substances can accidentally erase an ECG tracing?

A) Standard copier paper

B) Pencil lead

C) Plastic

D) Cardboard

24) How long must the ECG tracing be maintained as part of a patient's medical record?

A) 7 years

B) 3 years

C) 10 years

D) 15 years

25) When the paper speed is 25 mm/sec, how many boxes are present in a 1-minute recording?

A) 150 boxes per minute

B) 600 boxes per minute

C) 300 boxes per minute

D) 450 boxes per minute

26) Which one of these is not a commonly used method to calculate heart rates?

A) R-R method

B) 1500 method

C) 1-minute method

D)  6-second method

27) Which method is the only one to be used for irregular rhythms?

A) R-R method

B) 6-second method

C) 1500 method

D) 1-minute method

28) When estimating the heart rate with the 6-second method, you locate 6 seconds on a rhythm strip, count the number of complexes, and multiply by:

A) 10.

B) 60.

C) 5.

D) 15.

29) Which method of calculating the heart rate is shown below?

A) 1500 method

B) R-R method

C) 6-second method

D) 1-minute method

30) Using the 1500 method, calculate the heart rate.

A) 40 bpm

B) 60 bpm

C) 80 bpm

D) 20 bpm

31) Which heart rate method is the most accurate with regular rhythms?

A) R-R method

B) 6-second method

C) 1500 method

D) 300 method

32) To perform an ECG with accuracy, the best source to obtain specific information about the machine you are using is to consult:

A) the policy and procedure manual.

B) the manufacturer's instructions.

C) your supervisor.

D) a co-worker.

33) Computerized interpretation of the ECG tracing:

A) can be used for the actual diagnosis.

B) is usually validated by the technician.

C) must be validated by a physician.

D) replaces the physician's interpretation.

34) A multichannel ECG monitors all 12 leads but usually records how many leads at one time?

A) 12 leads

B) 3 leads

C) 1 lead

D) 4 leads

35) Which of the following is a valid reason to change the speed of the ECG tracing?

A) The patient is a paramedic and requests a different speed.

B) You cannot clearly identify the waves because they are too close together.

C) The patient is having difficulty breathing.

D) The patient has high blood pressure.

36) If you attempt to record an ECG and no tracing appears, what should you do?

A) Recheck the lead wires to make sure they are placed correctly.

B) Notify the physician.

C) Switch the arm and leg leads.

D) Stop the procedure and explain to the patient that the machine is malfunctioning.

37) The term bradycardia means:

A) fast heart rate.

B) slow heart rate.

C) normal heart rate.

D) absence of heart rate.

38) The term tachycardia means:

A) fast heart rate.

B) slow heart rate.

C) normal heart rate.

D) absence of heart rate.

39) How many leads does a multichannel recorder monitor at one time?

A) 3

B) 6

C) 10

D) 12

40) The process of studying a current ECG tracing along with older ECGs taken at intervals to note differences in a patient's condition is:

A) multichannel recording.

B) ECG calibration.

C) serial ECG comparison.

D) quality control inspection.

41) Which of the following has enhanced a patient's right to control his or her own health information, making it necessary to handle ECG tracings confidentially?

A) OSHA

B) HIPAA

C) CDC

D) AHA

42) The control on the ECG machine that increases or decreases the size of the ECG tracing is the:

A) speed control.

B) artifact filter.

C) gain control.

D) heart rate limit control.

43) Unwanted marks on an ECG tracing that are not related to the heart's electrical activity are known as:

A) gain.

B) artifact.

C) input.

D) output.

44) Which of the following conditions can an ECG machine detect if you set up heart rate limits on the machine?

A) Tachycardia

B) Congestive heart failure

C) Myocardial infarction

D) Ischemia

45) Which type of electrode is most commonly used to perform an ECG?

A) Carbon

B) Silver

C) Gold

D) Disposable

46) When serial ECGs are performed on a patient, which of the following guidelines should be followed to ensure accurate results?

A) The patient should not move between ECGs.

B) The patient should not eat or drink between ECGs.

C) The electrode placement must be the same for each ECG.

D) The electrodes must be changed for each successive ECG.

47) You are preparing to perform an ECG on a patient. When you open a new package of disposable electrodes, you notice that the gel appears to have dried out on some of the electrodes. What should you do?

A) Use them because they are new and the package was sealed.

B) Apply new gel to the electrodes and use them.

C) Consult your supervisor about whether to use the electrodes.

D) Discard the electrodes and open another package.

48) ECG machines are calibrated so that:

A) 1 cm = 1 second.

B) 1 mV = 1 second.

C) 1 cm = 1 mV.

D) 1 mV = 0.5 cm.

49) Estimate the heart rate using the R-R method.

A) 100 bpm

B) 125 bpm

C) 150 bpm

D) 160 bpm

50) Estimate the heart rate using the 1500 method.

A) 100 bpm

B) 125 bpm

C) 150 bpm

D) 160 bpm

51) Use the 1500 method to estimate the heart rate.

A) 50 bpm

B) 75 bpm

C) 100 bpm

D) 125 bpm

52) Use the R-R method to estimate the heart rate.

A) 27 bpm

B) 43 bpm

C) 58 bpm

D) 75 bpm

53) Use the 6-second method to estimate the heart rate. Note: This strip represents exactly six seconds.

A) 80 bpm

B) 100 bpm

C) 140 bpm

D) 160 bpm

54) Use the 6-second method to estimate the heart rate. Note: This strip represents exactly six seconds.

A) 140

B) 84

C) 120

D) 70

55) Which method of estimating heart rate should you use for this tracing, and what is the estimated heart rate?

A) R-R method, 50 bpm

B) 1500 method, 58 bpm

C) 1500 method, 100 bpm

D) 6-second method, 70 bpm