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nowthenadir t1_j5q2hz6 wrote

Reply to comment by uiucengineer in Garmin adds FDA-cleared EKGs to its Venu 2 Plus smartwatch | Garmin is shoring up its lifestyle offerings by adding this advanced health feature to its smartest device. by chrisdh79

Technically you are correct, that fits the definition of an ekg. When someone in the modern medical field uses the term ekg, it is referring to a 12 lead ekg. EKG’s of single leads are simply referred to as rhythm or monitoring strips. Like, if an attending physician asked a resident to bring them a patients ekg, and the resident showed up with a rhythm strip, well let’s just say that that resident would likely be humiliated in front of their colleagues in the very near future. Literally, no doctor in America will refer to a single lead tracing as an ekg.

So there’s the literal definition and the way it’s actually used. I identified with the original comment because I am reading that statement as a physician, not a layperson.

The comment I made about criteria was a joke that would only be funny to a very few people that read it. It was not meant to be taken as a serious comment, but sarcasm doesn’t always translate into text well.

Edit: better grammar

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Airbornequalified t1_j5ub2j4 wrote

Plenty of ekgs are not 12-leads. Paramedics will bring in 3-leads and will still be called an ekg by providers

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nowthenadir t1_j5vjpao wrote

Okay, okay. I admitted I was wrong when I said that they misused the word. What more do you want?

What I should have said is that I was confused and worried when I read the title of the article. Then I read the article and realized what they were referring to was a single lead reading, similar to Apple Watch.

I Don’t know what equipment medics have where you are, but I’ve only had them bring in 12 leads. How do you diagnose a STEMI prehospital with a 3 lead? Nobody in any hospital I’ve ever worked at or in any class in medical school has ever referred to anything other than a 12 lead as an ekg. A rhythm strip is technically an ekg, but nobody calls it that. That was the source of my initial confusion.

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uiucengineer t1_j5q5968 wrote

Language is alive and new products and techniques lead to changes. I don’t see this causing any confusion. Your example proves my point—the reason the resident would be humiliated is because it’s obvious from context that you were expecting a 12-lead.

Who is being misled? Who both understands a proper EKG is 12 leads but doesn’t also immediately realize this would be impossible with a watch?

What does “monitoring strip” mean in the context of a wrist watch? That would be very confusing.

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nowthenadir t1_j5q7tzo wrote

I mean, you’re right. I said you’re right. What do you want, a medal? I was simply explaining to you why I interpreted the headline the way I did.

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uiucengineer t1_j5q8zh1 wrote

Dude I wasn’t trying to disparage you, but I think it’s pretty clear you were trying to argue I was “technically” right but wrong in some other more important way. You even threw in that you’re a doctor lol so am I

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nowthenadir t1_j5qa87o wrote

No, you’re right. Just wasn’t sure you’re in medicine, so was explaining why I read that the way I did.

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