The electrocardiogram is done before gastroenteroscopy mainly to assess the patient’s cardiac function, to exclude some cardiac-related gastric discomfort, and to assess whether the patient’s cardiac function can tolerate gastroenteroscopy.
In some patients with abdominal pain, it may be angina radiating to the upper abdomen, causing the patient to mistake it for abdominal pain, so it can be ruled out by ECG.
In the case of some people with heart disease, such as arrhythmia and myocardial ischemia, an acute attack of heart disease may be induced during gastroscopy, resulting in serious consequences. ECG is to help the doctor understand the basic condition of the patient and assess whether he/she can tolerate the gastroenteroscopy.
In addition, some patients opt for painless gastroscopy, which requires injection of anesthesia. In this case, an ECG is done before the examination to give the anesthesiologist a basic level of reference. The anesthesiologist makes a judgment based on the patient’s activity tolerance level and the ECG.
To summarize, it is still important to do ECG before gastroenteroscopy, especially the elderly or patients with underlying heart disease should follow the doctor’s instructions to actively cooperate with the doctor’s examination.