Funny story

As a cardiologist it is quite common for me to read EKGs ( electrocardiograms). The electrical activity of the heart is captured on a paper tracing. A vital tool in any healthcare professional’s tool kit. So this peaked my 8y old’s interest. What is daddy doing all the time?

He was curious about the wavy lines on the screen and wanted to know more about it. So I played along and taught him the various patterns, normal and abnormal. He was always excited about when I was going to read again and wanted to read them with me. ” I want to read them first” he would yell.

To my surprise, he started asking me questions such as ” is it normal for this 74y old man to have a heart rate of 132 beats per minute at rest?”

Blown away !!

I can understand teaching him patterns but to make a clinical correlation like this from an EKG was mind boggling. ” Yes “I answered, “quite abnormal.” He has been recognizing the differences between normal and abnormal yet to make the leap of heart rate, and age and then follow the rhythm of sinus and then observing the changes of the PQRST was shocking ( mind the heart pun)

Anyway I don’t know if he is going to be a 3rd generation cardiologist, or a gymnast, or an architect, or an elaborate Broadway show producer ( thats another story) but in the meantime I am going to continue with EKG reading with him. He makes it more fun.
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I love you