NPR

Doctors Told Not To Order Electrocardiograms For Low-Risk Patients

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the benefits from routine electrocardiograms in people at low risk of heart disease don't outweigh the harms from unnecessary follow-up tests.
If you're at low risk for heart disease, an electrocardiogram shouldn't be a routine test for you, a panel of medical experts says.

Doctors shouldn't routinely perform electrocardiograms on patients at low risk for heart disease, an influential federal panel is recommending.

While an ECG test of the heart's electrical activity is safe and inexpensive, the benefits for patients at low risk of heart disease are very low and the results can trigger possibly dangerous, unnecessary.

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