Connecting The Hardware - Sparkfun Electronics AD8232 Hook-Up Manual

Diagram of the heart. Credit Wikipedia.org
PR Interval
The PR interval is the initial wave generated by an electrical impulse traveling from the right atrium to the left. The right atrium is the first chamber to see an
electrical impulse. This electrical impulse causes the chambers to "depolarize". This forces it to contract and drain deoxygenated blood from both the Superior
and Inferior vena cava into the right ventricle. As the electrical impulse travels across the top of the heart it then triggers the left atrium to contract. The left atrium
is responsible for receiving newly oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left ventricle via the left and right pulmonary veins. The pulmonary veins are red in the
diagram because they are carrying oxygenated blood. They are still called veins because veins carry blood towards the heart. Science!
QT Interval
The QT Interval is where things get really interesting. The QRS is a complex process that generates the signature "beep" in cardiac monitors. During QRS both
ventricles begin to pump. The right ventricle begins to pump deoxygenated blood into the lungs through the left and right pulmonary arteries. The pulmonary
arteries are blue in the diagram because they are carrying deoxygenated blood. They are still called arteries because arteries carry blood away the heart.
Science, Again! The left ventricle is also begining to pump freshly oxygenated blood through the aorta and into the rest of the body. After the initial contraction
comes the ST segment. The ST segment is fairly quiet electrically as it is the time where the ventricals waiting to be "re-polarized". Finally the T wave becomes
present to actively "re-ploarize", or relax the ventricles. This relaxation phase resets the ventricles to be filled again by the atriums.
Heartbeat with corresponding ECG Credit Wikipedia.org

Connecting the Hardware

In this guide, we'll connect the AD8232 Breakout to an Arduino microcontroller. We will build a simple cardiac monitor that will allow you to measure the electrical
activity of the heart in real time!
Required Materials
AD8232 Heart Rate Monitor Example
SparkFun Wish List
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