Abstract
High resolution electrocardiography (HRECG) implies an enhanced view of the electrical activity of the heart when compared to the standard ECG. In order to maintain perspective this requires an increased resolution for both the time and voltage axis. In the case of the latter an increased recording gain will also increase the noise into the system. Signal averaging has been used for almost 20 years in electrocardiography as a means of improving the signal to noise ration (SNR) for the purpose of recording low level signalsi. Applications of this technology have included recordings of His-Purkinje potentialsn, AV node potentials, and cardiac late potentials. The latter are, of course, the most common application of the signal averaged HRECG and will be the focus of this paper. There are two major concerns in using the HRECG. The first is a proper understanding of the technology and the second is the proper application of the technology in the clinical setting. This paper will concentrate on the first aspect because without a technically good HRECG study it will be clinically useless. Finally, there is a discussion about the current problems and future directions of the HRECG.
