EKG certification Certification EKG Equipment & Artifact Troubleshooting 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the standard paper speed used for a resting 12-lead EKG in the United States?
- 15 mm/sec
- 25 mm/sec (Correct answer)
- 50 mm/sec
- 10 mm/sec
Correct answer: 25 mm/sec
The standard paper speed for a resting 12-lead EKG in the US is 25 mm/sec, making each small box equal to 0.04 seconds.
Question 2: Which artifact pattern on an EKG is most commonly caused by AC (alternating current) electrical interference?
- Wandering baseline
- 60-cycle interference producing a thick, fuzzy baseline (Correct answer)
- Muscle tremor artifact
- Intermittent signal dropout
Correct answer: 60-cycle interference producing a thick, fuzzy baseline
AC interference produces a characteristic 60-cycle per second artifact that appears as a thick, uniform fuzz on the baseline.
Question 3: What is the standard sensitivity setting on most EKG machines?
- 5 mm/mV
- 10 mm/mV (Correct answer)
- 20 mm/mV
- 1 mm/mV
Correct answer: 10 mm/mV
The standard sensitivity for EKG recording is 10 mm/mV, meaning a 1 mV signal produces a 10 mm deflection on the paper.
Question 4: A wandering baseline artifact on an EKG is most likely caused by:
- Improper machine calibration
- Electrode movement or poor skin preparation (Correct answer)
- 60 Hz electrical interference
- Incorrect lead placement
Correct answer: Electrode movement or poor skin preparation
Wandering baseline is most often caused by electrode movement, poor adhesion, or inadequate skin preparation such as not cleaning the electrode site.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the purpose of EKG machine calibration?
- To adjust the paper speed
- To ensure the machine records a 1 mV signal as exactly 10 mm deflection (Correct answer)
- To set the filter frequency
- To reset the patient data
Correct answer: To ensure the machine records a 1 mV signal as exactly 10 mm deflection
Calibration ensures accuracy by confirming that a standard 1 mV test pulse produces the expected 10 mm deflection on the recording.
Question 6: Muscle tremor artifact on an EKG most closely resembles which rhythm disturbance?
- Atrial flutter
- Ventricular fibrillation (Correct answer)
- Atrial fibrillation
- Supraventricular tachycardia
Correct answer: Ventricular fibrillation
Muscle tremor artifact produces irregular, rapid baseline fluctuations that can mimic the chaotic appearance of ventricular fibrillation.
EKG certification Certification EKG Equipment & Artifact Troubleshooting 1
What is the standard paper speed used for a resting 12-lead EKG in the United States?