Question

An EKG technician notes that the QRS complex is too tall to fit on the EKG paper. Which of the following actions should the technician take?

A) Change the gain control to 20 mm/mV
B) Change the paper speed to 10 mm/second
C) Change the gain control to 5 mm/mV
D) Change the paper speed to 50 mm/second

Answer 1

The EKG technician should change the gain control to 5 mm/mV (option C) to make the QRS complex fit properly on the EKG paper. This adjustment will reduce the height of the waveforms, which is necessary when they are too tall for the paper.

Step-by-step explanation:

If an EKG technician notes that the QRS complex is too tall to fit on the EKG paper, the appropriate action would be to change the gain control. The gain control on an EKG machine determines the amplitude of the waveforms on the paper. When the waves are too tall, reducing the gain will shrink the waves so that they fit properly on the EKG paper. Adjusting the paper speed, which affects the horizontal axis representing time, will not address the issue of amplitude.

The correct action, therefore, would be to change the gain control to 5 mm/mV (option C), which is a standard adjustment to reduce the size of the EKG tracings on paper when they are too large. The normal setting is 10 mm/mV, so changing to 5 mm/mV will halve the height of the EKG waveforms, making them fit within the limits of the EKG paper.