THE ELECTROCARDIOGRAM By Willem Einthoven 1903

Willem Einthoven (1860 - 1927) was a Dutch doctor and physiologist. He invented the first practical electrocardiogram (ECG) in 1903 and received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1924 for it ("for the discovery of the mechanism of the electrocardiogram.")

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the oldest and most commonly used cardiology procedure. It is noninvasive, simple to record and its cost is minimal. No other medical invention has had greater impact or is so universally used all over the world and despite competition from many new procedures, it has remained in continuous use for 100 years. The year 2002 marked the centennial of Willem Einthoven's first recording of the ECG.