[The recognition of ECG artefacts is becoming increasingly important for physicians working in the field of internal medicine. At the same time, however, very little information about artefacts is published in either articles or textbooks. The authors provide a summary of the generation, types and recognition of ECG artefacts. The aim of the article is to draw the attention of clinicians to the dangers of this increasingly common phenomenon. Unrecognised artefacts can often prompt further (unnecessary) investigations and may result in establishing wrong diagnosis as well as erroneous treatment decisions.]

[Sudden death (HH) is not only associated with coronary heart disease or heart failure, but is also present in hypertension, primarily associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, systolic pressure, and age. Co-morbidities of hypertension (diabetes, coronary heart disease, heart failure and renal failure) contribute greatly to its development. HH occurs due to ventricular fibrillation, or asystole. The auther demonstrates depolarization and repolarization pathologies leading to HH and detectable on the ECG and their characteristic ECG patterns. He also emphasizes the importance of resting heart rate and heart rate variability.]

[Introduction/aim of the study - Pre-surgical functional MRI (fMRI) is an important modality of examinations before brain surgery. There are several artefacts (e.g. motion, susceptibility) which may hinder the evaluation of fMRI data. Physiological artefacts (breathing, pulsation) also affect the sensitivity and specificity of anatomical localization. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the efficiency of physiological artefact identification and removal methods for presurgical evaluation. Materials and methods - Siemens Magnetom Verio 3T MRI scanner was used to collect data. The physiological parameters (breathing, pulse) were recorded with the MRI system’s built-in devices. Data from fourteen patients - with primary brain tumour - were evaluated with SPM12 utilizing the RETROICOR/RVHR tool to detect and decrease the effect of physiological artefacts. We compared the statistical maps obtained with and without the physiological correction using the Jaccard similarity coefficient, and ROI analyses. Results - Significant differences were found in the mean ROI values (p<0.0016) and the extensions of eloquent activations (p<0.0013), when using the physiological correction (RETORICOR/RVHR) based on convolution method. On the other hand, no significant differences were found between the ROIs’ standard deviations (F=0.28). The RETROICOR/ RVHR method helps to define the precise localisation of eloquent areas (p<0.009). The number of irrelevant (non-significant) voxels were increased (p<0.001). Conclusions - Minimising of physiological artefacts in fMRI data calculations, the (RETROICOR/RVHR) method based on convolution has been successfully adapted. This algorithm could be helpful before neurosurgical intervention. The activity pattern became more reliable. ]