When coming in for an EKG, avoid skin creams and lotions the day of your test and wear an easily removable shirt. Your provider has you lie flat and relax, and then they attach 12 electrodes with adhesive pads to your chest, arms, and legs. They may need to shave areas of your body hair to ensure the electrodes stay on. The EKG computer creates a picture on graph paper of your heart’s electrical impulses. You can expect the painless procedure to take 10 minutes. Your provider then translates the computer’s wave pattern immediately and can understand your EKG results. In some cases, an EKG can detect a heart attack that’s occurring during the test. In other cases, it may take several hours or days for a heart attack or issue to show up on your EKG. If your provider suspects a serious heart issue, they may recommend a blood test or imaging studies. Your provider may encourage longer EKG recordings to understand any concerns. You can wear Holter monitors for up to two days and event monitors can record your heart activity for weeks to several years. The A+ Urgent Care team can also refer you to a board-certified Cardiologists No matter your results, your provider helps create a treatment plan for you or can refer you to an outside specialist.