Lowell — With wires connected to electrodes attached to their skin, Lowell High School students watched as a graph depicting lines and squiggly peaks and valleys instantaneously appeared on a Chromebook screen.
They were looking at in-the-moment recordings of the electrical activity of their hearts while taking turns using a LabQuest EKG sensor in teacher Erin Lewis’ anatomy and physiology class.
“It’s kind of weird, because mine looks different, but (Lewis) said they all look different. I think it’s cool — really cool — that it got it so fast,” said senior Josie Hackett.
The heart’s electrical system, which plays a role in keeping the heart operating normally, was the lesson of the day in the two-week unit on the heart.
Lewis explained: “(The EKG) is essentially telling you the push of the electrical current as it moves through your arteries.”
The snapshots of students’ own heart rhythms showed them how EKGs are used in medical diagnoses. Students learned that the heart has an intrinsic heartbeat, apart from the brain that controls its beats and coordination.
“It’s funny how our body has electricity, because when you think about it you think about actual energy,” said senior Giovanna Longo. “That’s kind of how it works, but it’s not the same thing.”
Another Learning Tool
The class was using the EKG sensor purchased with a grant from the Lowell Education Foundation for the first time. Lewis said the device makes a great addition to the two-trimester class, in which students learn about the parts of the body and its systems and participate in hands-on activities as wide-ranging as testing blood pressure and dissecting a kidney and cat.
The heart unit is one many relate to personally, since most people know someone with a heart condition, Lewis said.
“The students are really interested in it. They can read about a condition and then see how it actually is related to the anatomy of the body and then why that condition happens and what the symptoms are,” she said.
Students also looked at sample EKG scans to identify heart conditions. Josie Hackett examined one closely before determining it represented second-degree heart block. She matched other readings to premature atrial contraction, atrial fibrillation and premature ventricular contraction, as she identified the waves and dips in the readings.
With plans to become a veterinarian, Josie said she knows she will have to do similar tests on animals.
“It’s really helpful that it’s giving me a head start, because I will have to take anatomy and chemistry classes,” she said. “This is a way to get me started on what to expect in college.”
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