Final answer:
For a patient with dextrocardia, EKG leads should be placed in a mirrored fashion on the chest, and limb leads may also need to be switched to corresponding limbs to accurately reflect the heart's abnormal position and record its electrical activity correctly.
Step-by-step explanation:
When dealing with a patient with dextrocardia, where the apex of the heart is oriented towards the right side of the chest, the standard placement of the leads for an EKG (Electrocardiogram) must be mirrored. In a standard 12-lead EKG, six electrodes are typically placed on the chest and four on the limbs. With dextrocardia, the placement of these electrodes is adjusted to reflect the heart's abnormal position. Specifically, the six chest leads should be placed in a mirror image format; the V1 lead would be placed where V6 would normally be on the left side, and similarly for the other chest leads (V2-V6), they would be positioned opposite to their standard location. The limb leads might also need to be placed on the opposite limbs to record the electrical activity appropriately. It is crucial to adjust the EKG lead placement for patients with dextrocardia to accurately interpret the heart's electrical activity and obtain clinically meaningful data that could identify any abnormalities or conditions.