EKG Technician

Full overview

This course prepares a student to take the AMCA EKG Technician Certification (ETC) national certification exam.

In this lesson, you trace the development of the ECG and its importance in modern healthcare. You discover how it is used in diagnosing heart conditions, examine related legal and ethical issues, and review essential safety measures. You also connect ECG concepts with basic vital signs and learn about career paths in this growing field.

In this lesson, you explore how the heart’s structures and rhythms connect to the ECG. You follow the flow of blood through chambers, valves, and vessels while distinguishing between pulmonary, systemic, and coronary circulation. You also examine the cardiac cycle, learning how systole, diastole, and the conduction system reveal the heart’s function on an ECG.

In this lesson, you learn how ECG leads capture the heart’s electrical activity and how machines record and display those signals. You become familiar with electrodes, graph paper, and machine controls while connecting these concepts to measuring heart rate. Through these foundations, you gain insight into interpreting accurate ECG tracings in clinical practice.

In this lesson, you follow the full process of performing an ECG, from preparing the patient and equipment to applying electrodes and recording a tracing. You study ways to communicate with patients, ensure safety, and address special circumstances. You also learn how to recognize artifacts, care for equipment, and respond to emergencies during the procedure.

In this lesson, you examine how heart activity creates the ECG waveform and what each segment reveals about cardiac function. You learn how to evaluate tracings, identify abnormalities, and apply criteria for classifying dysrhythmias. By connecting rhythm, rate, and waveform features, you build the foundation for understanding clinical ECG interpretation.

In this lesson, you focus on sinus rhythms and how they influence patient health. You compare normal rhythm with conditions such as bradycardia, tachycardia, dysrhythmia, arrest, and exit block. Each pattern is linked to specific effects on the patient and guides the care or treatment that may be required.

In this lesson, you examine atrial dysrhythmias and how they differ in origin and effect. You review premature atrial complexes, wandering pacemakers, multifocal tachycardia, flutter, and fibrillation, noting how each alters heart function. Understanding these patterns helps you connect rhythm disturbances with patient outcomes and the care needed to manage them.

In this lesson, you study junctional dysrhythmias and how they influence the heart’s rhythm and patient well-being. You look at premature junctional complexes, escape rhythms, accelerated rhythms, tachycardia, and supraventricular tachycardia. Each condition highlights how changes in the AV junction can affect cardiac output and guide decisions in patient care.

In this lesson, you learn about heart block dysrhythmias and how they interfere with the heart’s electrical conduction. You review first-, second-, and third-degree AV blocks, including Mobitz I and II, and consider how each affects patient stability. These patterns reveal important links between conduction delays and the care patients may require.

In this lesson, you focus on ventricular dysrhythmias and their serious impact on patient outcomes. You examine premature ventricular complexes, idioventricular rhythms, tachycardia, fibrillation, and asystole, along with their clinical implications. Recognizing these life-threatening patterns helps you understand how disruptions in the ventricles affect cardiac function and the urgent care that may follow.

In this lesson, you explore the role of pacemakers in regulating the heart. You look at how pacing rhythms appear on an ECG, what they reveal about heart function, and how complications can be identified. The material connects device operation with the realities of patient monitoring and care.

In this lesson, you examine exercise electrocardiography, often called stress testing, and its role in evaluating heart function under physical demand. You consider how patients are prepared, what safety steps guide the process, and the responsibilities of healthcare professionals. You also compare testing methods and protocols that reveal valuable information about cardiovascular health.

In this lesson, you learn how ambulatory monitoring extends the information gained from a standard ECG by tracking heart activity over time. You review different monitoring devices, their purposes, and how they are applied and removed. The material also emphasizes patient education and the role of healthcare professionals in reporting accurate results.

In this lesson, you explore the role of the coronary arteries and how reduced blood flow leads to cardiac symptoms. You compare stable and unstable presentations, review ST elevation and non-ST elevation changes, and examine heart failure. The content also highlights urgent assessment steps and treatment options that guide care for cardiac patients.

In this lesson, you connect the 12-lead ECG to the heart’s anatomy, learning which coronary arteries supply different regions. You review changes that signal ischemia, injury, or infarction and study conduction problems such as bundle branch block. The material also introduces axis deviation and left ventricular hypertrophy, providing tools to recognize advanced patterns on the ECG.

This course prepares a student to take the AMCA EKG Technician Certification (ETC) national certification exam.

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NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.