Our current database contains 531 unique electrocardiograms (ECGs) and more tracings are being added monthly. We are the largest online educational resource completely devoted to ECG interpretation. Each electrocardiogram has been chosen and carefully reviewed by an expert panel.

Scoring

Our answer sheet is designed to simulate the scoring method used for the ECG portion of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Cardiovascular Disease exam. There are 94 separate major or minor diagnoses available to code for each ECG. In general, each ECG will focus on 1-3 major diagnoses with often a couple of minor or trivial diagnoses also being present. Answers are weighted as determined by our expert panel, and you'll receive between 1-4 points for each correct answer. Over-coding incorrect answer choices will result in negative points, so you are encouraged to only mark answers that are clearly accurate.

For you to best monitor your progress, your scores for each individual ECG will be kept as well as a general summary of your composite scores. Scoring has not been validated to correlate with any standardized exam passing rate or overall clinical competence and should be used only for self-assessment and monitoring of progress. In general, our expert panel feels that consistently answering greater than 50% correct indicates understanding of the majority of major diagnoses (AVERAGE KNOWLEDGE BASE), while greater than 75% correct indicates understanding of the majority of major and minor diagnoses (SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE BASE).

ECG Criteria

There currently is no single uniform criteria used for the interpretation of ECGs. Recently, interest in this area has emerged, and in 2007, the American Heart Association, with endorsement by the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society, and the International Society for Computerized Electrocardiology, published a scientific statement on Recommendations for the Standardization and Interpretation of the Electrocardiogram (J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;49:1109-27). Although the establishment of a standardized set of criteria remains a work in progress, our expert panel supports this effort and recognizes its need.

The ECG criteria used by our expert panel are available to all users of this site's licensed materials. They attempt to closely adhere to those recommendations discussed above, but may deviate slightly in instances where our expert panel feels such recommendations fail to best emphasize what historically has been important to understand for the ECG portion of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Cardiovascular Disease exam. The ECG criteria are to be used as an educational tool, but are not meant to be the sole educational resource for the users of ECGsource. ECGsource will in no way assume liability for any certification being sought by its users, including but not limited to, passing of medical board exams. Users are encouraged to consult other references to further expand their knowledge and skills in ECG interpretation. The criteria are not designed to be directly used in individual patient care and should not replace sound professional judgement.

Calipers

Similar to the actual ABIM Cardiovascular Disease exam, calipers may be displayed to assist you in the interpretation of each ECG. Once you select calipers to be displayed, you may adjust their size and drag them across the tracing as needed.