When the skeletal muscles experience shaking, the ECG is “bombarded” by apparently random electrical activity.Īn irregular electrocardiogram (ECG) baseline may resemble atrial fibrillation (AF) (Finsterer, Stöllberger, & Gatterer, 2003) or atrial flutter (Baranchuk & Kang, 2009 Barrett, Kelly, Halley, & Sugrue, 2007 Hwang, Chen, Sung, & Lee, 2014 Nam, Best, Greaves, & Dayananda, 2016 Prabhavathi, Ravindranath, Moorthy, & Manjunath, 2009), and a slow regular rhythm may suggest the possibility of AF with complete AV block or junctional escape rhythm. Examples of motion artifacts include tremors with no evident cause, Parkinson’s disease, cerebellar or intention tremor, anxiety, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis, and drugs such as amphetamines, xanthines, lithium, benzodiazepines, or shivering (due to hypothermia, fever (rigor due to shaking), cardiopulmonary resuscitation by chest compression (oscillations of great amplitude) and patients who move their limbs during the test, causing sudden irregularities in the ECG baseline that may resemble premature contractions or interfere with ECG wave shapes, or other supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Motion artifacts are due to shaking with rhythmic movement.

As a result of artifacts, the components of the electrocardiogram ( ECG) such as the baseline and waves can be distorted.

Electrocardiographic artifacts are defined as electrocardiographic alterations, not related to cardiac electrical activity.

Muscle artifact meaning