DERIVACIONES POLARES DE ECG: UNA REPRESENTACIÓN GRÁFICA DIFERENTE PARA ENSEÑAR VECTORES DE ECG E INTERPRETACIÓN
ECG Polar Leads: A Different Graphic Representation to teach ECG vectors and interpretation
Prensa méd. argent; 106 (10), 2020
Publication year: 2020
Electrical activity of the heart can be presented using different methods, and the standard is ECG,
in which the changes in electric amplitude in one axis are written on paper that moves at a known
velocity. Vectorcardiography uses Cartesian (rectangular) coordinates and plots points defined by the
simultaneous values in the x and y axes. In this paper, a new graphic display of electrical heart activity
based on Polar coordinates is presented. In polar coordinates, the point is defined by the magnitude
of the vector (electrical amplitude) and the angle in relation to x or y or z axes, and all the leads can be
overlapped. The information used by this method is the same that for simultaneous 12 leads standard
ECG and it needs no additional cables or technician labor. Polar coordinates are very good for comparison of time/amplitude mismatch in different leads, to detect the cardiac axis and to explore the
impulse conduction. Also, it facilitates the learning of ECG physical basis. This method differs from
the classic Dower’s Polarcardiography because it uses the classic leads instead of the X, Y and Z leads,
and it does not apply magnitude tracings.