An electrocardiogram (EKG) measures your heart's electrical activity. Find out what an abnormal EKG means and understand your treatment options.

Q: I am a 79-year-old man in relatively good health. I don’t take any medications. I recently visited a cardiologist regarding some heart palpitations that I have been experiencing. After ...

Dear Anon.: An EKG is a very useful, inexpensive, noninvasive way of finding out information about the heart. Unfortunately, the results are not always definitive.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 66-year-old woman who recently had an ECG prior to my knee surgery. The interpretation I received stated that I had an abnormal ECG with a “left anterior fascicular block ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 79-year-old man in relatively good health. I don’t take any medications. I recently visited a cardiologist regarding some heart palpitations that I have been experiencing.

However, if you were my patient, the next time you came in, I would probably recheck the EKG with very careful attention to the placement of the leads. If the abnormal finding disappeared, you can be ...

An EKG is a very useful, inexpensive, ... If the abnormal finding disappeared, you can be 100% certain that this EKG finding does not represent a heart attack. Dear Dr. Roach: ...

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 79-year-old man in relatively good health. I don’t take any medications. I recently visited a cardiologist regarding some heart palpitations that I have been ...

Dr. Roach: I am a 79-year-old man in relatively good health. I don’t take any medications. I recently visited a cardiologist regarding some heart palpitations that I have been experiencing.