Electrocardiographic artifacts in clinical practice: A logical approach to recognition and prevention

doi:10.4330/wjc.v18.i3.116299

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World Journal of Cardiology

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1949-8462

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

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Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Cardiol. Mar 26, 2026; 18(3): 116299
Published online Mar 26, 2026. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v18.i3.116299

Table 3 Common clinical mimics of electrocardiographic artifacts

Artifact source	ECG appearance	Clinical mimic	Recognition clues
Tremor (Parkinson’s, shivering)	Irregular baseline, absent P waves	Atrial fibrillation	P waves marching through; stable pulse
Electrocautery, ventilators	Saw-tooth baseline	Atrial flutter	Localized, no AV conduction ratio
Movement, loose cables	Wide irregular complexes	Ventricular tachycardia	Too fast; QRS visible through noise; stable patient
Loose electrode, EMI	Chaotic baseline	Ventricular fibrillation	Conscious patient; stable SpO₂
Respiration, poor skin contact	Wandering baseline, pseudo ST shift	Myocardial infarction	Inconsistent, resolves with repeat
Holter/wearable motion	Drop-outs, spikes	AV block, tachycardia	Correlate with activity; not reproducible

ECG: Electrocardiogram; EMI: Electromagnetic interference; AV: Atrioventricular.

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Citation: Mondal S, Raja DP, Muslim NA, Prabhu MA. Electrocardiographic artifacts in clinical practice: A logical approach to recognition and prevention. World J Cardiol 2026; 18(3): 116299
URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/1949-8462/full/v18/i3/116299.htm
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4330/wjc.v18.i3.116299

Mondal S, Raja DP, Muslim NA, Prabhu MA. Electrocardiographic artifacts in clinical practice: A logical approach to recognition and prevention. World J Cardiol 2026; 18(3): 116299 [DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v18.i3.116299]

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