How you prepare
By Mayo Clinic staffNo special preparations are necessary. However, avoid drinking cold water or exercising immediately before an electrocardiogram. Cold water can produce potentially misleading changes in one of the electrical patterns recorded during the test. Physical activity, such as climbing stairs, may increase your heart rate.
- Electrocardiogram. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ekg/. Accessed Aug. 20, 2012.
- Podrid PJ. Ambulatory monitoring in the assessment of cardiac arrhythmias. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 20, 2012.
- Stress testing. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/stress/. Accessed Aug. 20, 2012.


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