Artifact Recognition & Troubleshooting — ECG Academy Lesson

Five artifact types, a 4-step troubleshooting approach, and the cardinal rule: check the patient first.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the five major types of EKG artifact by their characteristic appearance
• Distinguish artifact from real rhythm changes using specific criteria
• Apply the 4-step troubleshooting sequence to resolve signal quality issues
• Explain why checking the patient is always the first response to a concerning tracing