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The Not Fair singer made the allegation in her bombshell autobiography My Thoughts Exactly, writing that she and Zoe got up close and personal at a party in 2014, after her band Lolawolf supported her on tour.
However, as she appeared on U.S. chat show Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday night (13Nov18), Zoe told a very different version of the story.
As her Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald co-star Eddie Redmayne, her fellow guest on the show, commented that Lily is “the voice of a generation” and he “loves” her, Zoe replied: “No you don’t”.
When host Andy Cohen asked if that’s the way Lily portrayed it in the book, Zoe said, “No… (it was portrayed like) I wanted it”.
A prominent craft beer trade group aims to end “craft washing” on the part of international conglomerates like AB InBev. Craft washing refers to the deceptive use of marketing to falsely give the appearance of being a small independent business.
Julia Herz, program director for Brewers Association, told me in a phone interview that there’s been a significant uptick in acquisitions of small breweries by “Big Beer” in recent years. Her group, which represents craft beer breweries, recently began an initiative to add transparency in an industry that can sometimes be murky. To date, 3,500 breweries have agreed to display the Brewers Association’s Certified Independent Craft seal on their cans and bottles.
Julia Herz said the seal is intended to “add transparency” within the craft beer market.
Houston-based Karbach and Granbury based Revolver Brewing are two examples of popular Texas breweries that were purchased by multi-billion-dollar conglomerates in recent years. To qualify for the use of the seal, breweries must prove they are below a certain production size and not owned by a beer conglomerate.
Consumers should care about the future of craft beer, Herz said, and not just because craft suds are tastier. Breweries support a wide range of economic and charitable initiatives. Around 10 million people visited craft breweries in 2014, she said. Last year, craft breweries raised $73 million for charitable causes. The small businesses are also key to revitalizing neglected neighborhoods around the country.
There are many bright spots and challenges on the craft beer horizon, she added. While microbreweries now account for 98 percent of beer breweries in the country, they only account for 13 percent total beer volume. Growth has slowed in recent years, partly due to the efforts of large corporations like AB InBev and MillerCoors, she said.
Board Game Night at HopFusion Aleworks. June 21.
From HopFusion: Every third Thursday Friend & Foe hosts Board Game Night. We will have a mixture of new games and popular games. Visit the event page here.
From Rahr: Join us for our mid-week Tastings on Wednesdays (5-7:30pm) or Saturdays (1-3pm). There are food vendors on site as well as live music for most events.
$10 will get you in and includes a glass to take home that you are able to fill up to three times with beer. Visit the event page here.
digits: Better iPad App: Zite or Flipboard?
A new iPad app called Zite crawls the Web and uses your social network and online reading behavior to cull reading material you might like. WSJ's Katie Boehret compares this app to the similar Flipboard app.
Wisconsin Girl Jayme Closs, Missing For Nearly 3 Months, I Found Alive Jayme Closs disappeared the day her parents were found dead. On Thursday, she approached a woman and said she had been taken. The man who allegedly abducted her and killed her parents is now in jail.
Authorities in Wisconsin say 13-year-old Jayme Closs, seen here in an undated photo, has been found alive. She had been missing since Oct. 15, when her parents were found fatally shot at their home.
Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who had been missing since her parents were found fatally shot in October, has been found alive. And officials say she immediately helped law enforcement arrest her alleged captor.
Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, was taken into custody just minutes after Jayme was found at 4:43 p.m. local time Thursday.
"In cases like this we often need a big break," FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Tolomeo said a news conference Friday morning in Wisconsin's Barron County. "And it was Jayme herself who gave us that break."
Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, of Gordon, Wis., is being held on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide.
Jayme disappeared on Oct. 15, the day her parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, were found shot to death at the family's home near Barron, Wis., a town about 75 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
Authorities said Jayme had been home when her parents were killed, that she was not a suspect and that they believed she was in danger. For 88 days, investigators searched for clues that could lead them to her.
Then, on Thursday afternoon, a girl who looked skinny and dirty and who was wearing shoes too big for her approached Jeanne Nutter, who was out walking her golden retriever in Gordon, Wis., about 60 miles north of the Closs home.
"She said, 'Please help me. I don't know where I am. I'm lost,' " Nutter told Wisconsin Public Radio. She says she recognized Jayme, having seen her photo on the news and posters around Wisconsin. The girl confirmed she was indeed Jayme Closs.
Nutter asked Jayme what sort of car the person who took her was driving, in case they needed to run. They walked to the nearby house of Peter and Kristin Kasinskas, where they wrapped her in a blanket and called 911. The girl said she had been abducted and had escaped from a house where she had been left alone, Peter Kasinskas told the NPR member station.
Jayme said the suspect "killed my parents and took me," Kristin Kasinskas told The Associated Press.
Deputies arrived at the Kasinskas' home and took a description of the captor's vehicle. A short time later, a patrol sergeant found a vehicle matching that description, pulled it over and took the suspect into custody.
"Jayme was taken against her will and escaped from a residence at which she was being held, and found help," Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said. "I can tell you that the subject planned his actions and took many proactive steps to hide his identity from law enforcement and the general public."
Patterson is being held in the Barron County jail on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide in the killing of Jayme's parents. Fitzgerald said that investigation remains "very fluid and active" and authorities are conducting numerous interviews.
Since Jayme's disappearance nearly three months ago, scores of people in Wisconsin and Minnesota helped authorities look for her. An initial ground search yielded no clues, but a second search by more than 2,000 people turned up several items of interest to investigators, the AP reports. In December, hundreds of people gathered in Barron for a tree-lighting ceremony in hopes of Jayme's safe return.
Jayme spent Thursday night in an area hospital for observation, according to the sheriff in Douglas County, where the girl was found.
"I'm going to hug her. Squeeze her," her grandfather Robert Naiberg told the Star-Tribune. "I've been in the dumpster for three months."
"We are just happy everyone kept praying and didn't give up hope, like we didn't," Jennifer Smith, her aunt and godmother, told ABC News on Thursday evening. "A lot of happy tears in this house tonight."
One small city in southeastern Arizona gets slapped with a certain adjective so often you expect to see it listed that way on maps: Quirky Bisbee.
Although intended as a compliment, the Q-word pigeonholes as much as it defines. Bisbee, a former mining town blessed with a spectacular setting and Old World architectural flourishes, has emerged as a desirable and multifaceted destination garnering national acclaim. Historic and artsy, creaky and classy, Bisbee has evolved. Quirkily, of course.
Bisbee sits at 5,300 feet in the Mule Mountains. Unlike other hamlets that cling to a hillside or nestle in a canyon, Bisbee appears to be spackled into the nooks and crannies of the rugged terrain. Clusters of houses zigzag up cliff faces, defying gravity and common sense. Others flow in and out of gulches and spill over ledges. Narrow streets, often no more than a ribbon of like-minded rubble, curl into the hills and vanish. Some houses can be reached only by stairs. Some stairs can be reached only by other stairs.
Think of the least likely spot imaginable to build a city. Got it? Welcome to Bisbee.
Yet it wasn't a skewed sense of humor that prompted such fanciful civic planning. The city sprawled forth out of necessity, straddling one of the richest mineral sites in the world. Mines produced nearly 3 million ounces of gold and more than 8 billion pounds of copper, plus silver, lead and zinc. By the early 1900s, Bisbee's population exceeded 20,000, making it a bona fide Western metropolis.
The inevitable bust followed the boom, and the last mine closed in the mid-1970s. As blue-collar working folks moved out, those of an artistic temperament moved in. Shops and galleries opened, houses and shacks were refurbished, often set ablaze with color. Murals splashed across walls, odd sculptures sprang up in postage-stamp-size yards, and cars were adorned with paint, sod, even plastic toys. "Quirky" emerged as the currency of Bisbee's fledgling tourism industry.
In recent years, a new wave of artistic types answered the siren song of Bisbee, bringing with them different skill sets and vision. Building upon the off-kilter foundation already laid, they gently nudged the city in a slightly more upscale direction.
Today, Bisbee boasts an array of activities, top-notch galleries, fine dining and some of the most individualized accommodations found in the state. To get there from Phoenix, take Interstate 10 east past Tucson to Benson, then take Arizona 80 southeast to Bisbee. It's about 205 miles one way.
The colorful homes of Bisbee perch along the sides of the Mule Mountains.
An electrocardiogram, or EKG, is a simple test that doctors use to measure the electrical activity of the heart. This helps them look for underlying heart conditions.
Sometimes, an abnormal EKG reading is actually just a normal variation in a person's heart rhythm. In other cases, it may be due to an underlying condition of the heart or a reaction to a medication the person is taking.
An EKG reading is a helpful diagnostic tool. Once a doctor has identified the underlying condition, they can suggest appropriate treatment.
An EKG can help visualize the electrical activity of the heart.
To many people, an EKG is just a series of lines. However, each line corresponds to an electrical signal sent from the heart.
Doctors know how to read and interpret these lines, which gives them a sense of the overall state of the heart.
The administering doctor or healthcare professional will attach electrodes to a person's skin, typically at 10 different points around their chest and on the limbs.
Each heartbeat sends out an electrical impulse. These electrodes pick up this impulse and record the activity in a wave form on a graph.
All of this happens in the blink of an eye, which is why an EKG is so important. An EKG can catch all of these tiny details and record them for a doctor to analyze.
What causes an abnormal EKG?
An abnormal EKG means that there is something unexpected in the EKG reading. This is not always a sign of an unhealthy heart.
For instance, in 2015, researchers found that competitive sports athletes regularly had abnormal EKG readings.
The researchers indicated that the majority of these results were harmless and due to the person's adaptation to exercise. However, they still called for thorough screening to check for any other risk factors.
An EKG will pick up any irregularities in a person's heart rate.
The human heart typically beats at around 60–100 beats per minute. A heart that beats any faster or slower than this may indicate an underlying issue. A doctor will want to run additional tests to find the underlying cause.
Although it may vary slightly between each person, each heart keeps a steady rhythm. A person may physically feel changes in this rhythm, such as skipped heartbeats or feeling as though the heart is fluttering.
An EKG will help doctors see how and where the heart is beating out of rhythm but will only be able to record the irregularity if it happens during the test.
Since this is unlikely, doctors may recommend using a Holter monitor, which monitors the heart's activity for 24 hours or longer. This gives doctors a better opportunity to catch the irregularity.
An EKG gives doctors an idea of how hard the heart is working in each specific area. An abnormal EKG result can be a sign that one region or section of the heart is larger or thicker than the others.
A thickened heart could mean that the heart is working too hard to pump blood. This may be due to a congenital or acquired heart condition.
Electrolyte minerals are important for overall health, but they also play a role in heart health and may even cause an abnormal EKG.
Electrolytes conduct electricity in the body and help keep the heart rate and rhythm consistent. An imbalance in electrolyte minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium may cause an abnormal EKG reading.
Taking certain medications may cause abnormal EKG results.
Some medications may cause an abnormal EKG reading. Anyone who is getting an EKG should discuss any medications they are taking with a doctor. It may also help to check the list of side effects provided on the packaging.
Some medications that help balance the heart rhythm may actually cause abnormal heart rhythms in some people. Such medications include certain beta-blockers and sodium channel blockers.
If a doctor thinks that the type of medication a person is taking may be causing their symptoms, they may suggest alternatives and then do a follow-up EKG to see how the person responds to the new medication.
Other aspects of heart disease may lead to an abnormal EKG. For example, people with high blood pressure are more likely to have an abnormal EKG reading.
Sometimes, an abnormal EKG result may be a sign of a serious issue, such as a heart attack.
When a person has a heart attack, the heart can lose its fresh supply of blood, which can cause tissue damage and even cell death.
Damaged tissue will not conduct electricity as well as healthy tissue, which could cause the abnormal EKG reading.
What do EKG results look like for A-fib?
Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to beat in irregular time and can show up in an EKG. Learn more about the condition here.
Treatment for an abnormal EKG depends on the underlying issue. If the doctor suspects the abnormal EKG is a result of normal variances in the human heart, they may recommend no treatment at all.
If a certain medication is causing the abnormal readings, they may recommend an alternative. If the doctor suspects that a person has an electrolyte imbalance, they may suggest fluids or medications that contain electrolytes.
Other issues may require more individualized treatments. An arrhythmia may or may not require treatment. Most arrhythmias pose little to no risk to the person, as they may not cause symptoms or interfere with the heart's function.
On the other hand, some arrhythmias may interfere with the heart's ability to pump blood. If a heart is having trouble keeping a steady rhythm, a doctor may recommend medications or ask the person to wear a pacemaker to help restore the heart's rhythm.
Anyone having a heart attack will need emergency medical treatment. The person may also need to undergo surgeries such as angioplasty to keep the blood flowing and reduce damage to the tissues.
When do you need an EKG?
A doctor may recommend an EKG to diagnose or monitor heart conditions.
Many people will get an EKG reading at some point in their lives, often due to experiencing common symptoms such as chronic chest pain, shortness of breath, or a rapid pulse.
Doctors may also regularly use EKGs to check on people with diagnosed heart disease.
Another reason to get an EKG is experiencing heart palpitations or arrhythmia. A person may feel as though their heart skips a beat, that their heart is fluttering, or that it is beating very strongly.
Doctors may recommend an EKG here to check for any underlying issues. They may order additional tests depending on the results.
An EKG is a risk-free and noninvasive procedure. It does not send electricity into the body and will not cause any pain.
It is an important tool for diagnosing conditions affecting the heart. Most people will undergo an EKG at some point.
Although having an abnormal EKG can seem scary, it is important to understand that it is just one part of a proper diagnosis. Many things can cause an abnormal EKG, and not all of them are dangerous.
A doctor can recommend further tests to diagnose the underlying cause of a person's symptoms and EKG results.
Johnson, Jon. "What causes an abnormal EKG result?." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 9 Apr. 2019. Web.
Following months of uncertainty, police in the northern Pacific town of Tamarindo can now be certain of one thing – they won’t be evicted from their station.
The Public Security Ministry, in an agreement with the Municipality of Santa Cruz in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, will pay the rent through December for the current station at the privately owned Cabinas Maleko on the edge of Tamarindo.
The municipality, which is in charge of collecting taxes in Tamarindo, has never funded the police station. The station, instead, has relied on private donations to meet the $1,500 per month rent at Cabinas Maleko.
This year’s economic crisis has caused a drop in donations, and officials worried that police would have to move the station to the nearby hamlet of Villareal – a move that was forced in 2007 due to a lack of funding.
After two months, the police moved back to the edge of Tamarindo when they noticed a spike in crime.
“Villareal is too far away,” said Diego Chavarria, a Tamarindo police officer, who reasoned that the closer the police are to the downtown area, the better the service they can provide (TT, March 27).
Tamarindo community organizations are working with developers to build a permanent police station on a 1,800-square-meter lot that a private developer donated to the community in 2007.
Officials have said they hope to have the new location prepared before early next year.

The Not Fair singer made the allegation in her bombshell autobiography My Thoughts Exactly, writing that she and Zoe got up close and personal at a party in 2014, after her band Lolawolf supported her on tour.

However, as she appeared on U.S. chat show Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday night (13Nov18), Zoe told a very different version of the story.

As her Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald co-star Eddie Redmayne, her fellow guest on the show, commented that Lily is “the voice of a generation” and he “loves” her, Zoe replied: “No you don’t”.

When host Andy Cohen asked if that’s the way Lily portrayed it in the book, Zoe said, “No… (it was portrayed like) I wanted it”.

A prominent craft beer trade group aims to end “craft washing” on the part of international conglomerates like AB InBev. Craft washing refers to the deceptive use of marketing to falsely give the appearance of being a small independent business.

Julia Herz, program director for Brewers Association, told me in a phone interview that there’s been a significant uptick in acquisitions of small breweries by “Big Beer” in recent years. Her group, which represents craft beer breweries, recently began an initiative to add transparency in an industry that can sometimes be murky. To date, 3,500 breweries have agreed to display the Brewers Association’s Certified Independent Craft seal on their cans and bottles.

Julia Herz said the seal is intended to “add transparency” within the craft beer market.

Houston-based Karbach and Granbury based Revolver Brewing are two examples of popular Texas breweries that were purchased by multi-billion-dollar conglomerates in recent years. To qualify for the use of the seal, breweries must prove they are below a certain production size and not owned by a beer conglomerate.

Consumers should care about the future of craft beer, Herz said, and not just because craft suds are tastier. Breweries support a wide range of economic and charitable initiatives. Around 10 million people visited craft breweries in 2014, she said. Last year, craft breweries raised $73 million for charitable causes. The small businesses are also key to revitalizing neglected neighborhoods around the country.

There are many bright spots and challenges on the craft beer horizon, she added. While microbreweries now account for 98 percent of beer breweries in the country, they only account for 13 percent total beer volume. Growth has slowed in recent years, partly due to the efforts of large corporations like AB InBev and MillerCoors, she said.

Board Game Night at HopFusion Aleworks. June 21.

From HopFusion: Every third Thursday Friend & Foe hosts Board Game Night. We will have a mixture of new games and popular games. Visit the event page here.

From Rahr: Join us for our mid-week Tastings on Wednesdays (5-7:30pm) or Saturdays (1-3pm). There are food vendors on site as well as live music for most events.

$10 will get you in and includes a glass to take home that you are able to fill up to three times with beer. Visit the event page here.

digits: Better iPad App: Zite or Flipboard?

A new iPad app called Zite crawls the Web and uses your social network and online reading behavior to cull reading material you might like. WSJ's Katie Boehret compares this app to the similar Flipboard app.

Wisconsin Girl Jayme Closs, Missing For Nearly 3 Months, I Found Alive Jayme Closs disappeared the day her parents were found dead. On Thursday, she approached a woman and said she had been taken. The man who allegedly abducted her and killed her parents is now in jail.

Authorities in Wisconsin say 13-year-old Jayme Closs, seen here in an undated photo, has been found alive. She had been missing since Oct. 15, when her parents were found fatally shot at their home.

Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who had been missing since her parents were found fatally shot in October, has been found alive. And officials say she immediately helped law enforcement arrest her alleged captor.

Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, was taken into custody just minutes after Jayme was found at 4:43 p.m. local time Thursday.

"In cases like this we often need a big break," FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin Tolomeo said a news conference Friday morning in Wisconsin's Barron County. "And it was Jayme herself who gave us that break."

Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, of Gordon, Wis., is being held on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide.

Jayme disappeared on Oct. 15, the day her parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, were found shot to death at the family's home near Barron, Wis., a town about 75 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

Authorities said Jayme had been home when her parents were killed, that she was not a suspect and that they believed she was in danger. For 88 days, investigators searched for clues that could lead them to her.

Then, on Thursday afternoon, a girl who looked skinny and dirty and who was wearing shoes too big for her approached Jeanne Nutter, who was out walking her golden retriever in Gordon, Wis., about 60 miles north of the Closs home.

"She said, 'Please help me. I don't know where I am. I'm lost,' " Nutter told Wisconsin Public Radio. She says she recognized Jayme, having seen her photo on the news and posters around Wisconsin. The girl confirmed she was indeed Jayme Closs.

Nutter asked Jayme what sort of car the person who took her was driving, in case they needed to run. They walked to the nearby house of Peter and Kristin Kasinskas, where they wrapped her in a blanket and called 911. The girl said she had been abducted and had escaped from a house where she had been left alone, Peter Kasinskas told the NPR member station.

Jayme said the suspect "killed my parents and took me," Kristin Kasinskas told The Associated Press.

Deputies arrived at the Kasinskas' home and took a description of the captor's vehicle. A short time later, a patrol sergeant found a vehicle matching that description, pulled it over and took the suspect into custody.

"Jayme was taken against her will and escaped from a residence at which she was being held, and found help," Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said. "I can tell you that the subject planned his actions and took many proactive steps to hide his identity from law enforcement and the general public."

Patterson is being held in the Barron County jail on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide in the killing of Jayme's parents. Fitzgerald said that investigation remains "very fluid and active" and authorities are conducting numerous interviews.

Since Jayme's disappearance nearly three months ago, scores of people in Wisconsin and Minnesota helped authorities look for her. An initial ground search yielded no clues, but a second search by more than 2,000 people turned up several items of interest to investigators, the AP reports. In December, hundreds of people gathered in Barron for a tree-lighting ceremony in hopes of Jayme's safe return.

Jayme spent Thursday night in an area hospital for observation, according to the sheriff in Douglas County, where the girl was found.

"I'm going to hug her. Squeeze her," her grandfather Robert Naiberg told the Star-Tribune. "I've been in the dumpster for three months."

"We are just happy everyone kept praying and didn't give up hope, like we didn't," Jennifer Smith, her aunt and godmother, told ABC News on Thursday evening. "A lot of happy tears in this house tonight."

One small city in southeastern Arizona gets slapped with a certain adjective so often you expect to see it listed that way on maps: Quirky Bisbee.

Although intended as a compliment, the Q-word pigeonholes as much as it defines. Bisbee, a former mining town blessed with a spectacular setting and Old World architectural flourishes, has emerged as a desirable and multifaceted destination garnering national acclaim. Historic and artsy, creaky and classy, Bisbee has evolved. Quirkily, of course.

Bisbee sits at 5,300 feet in the Mule Mountains. Unlike other hamlets that cling to a hillside or nestle in a canyon, Bisbee appears to be spackled into the nooks and crannies of the rugged terrain. Clusters of houses zigzag up cliff faces, defying gravity and common sense. Others flow in and out of gulches and spill over ledges. Narrow streets, often no more than a ribbon of like-minded rubble, curl into the hills and vanish. Some houses can be reached only by stairs. Some stairs can be reached only by other stairs.

Think of the least likely spot imaginable to build a city. Got it? Welcome to Bisbee.

Yet it wasn't a skewed sense of humor that prompted such fanciful civic planning. The city sprawled forth out of necessity, straddling one of the richest mineral sites in the world. Mines produced nearly 3 million ounces of gold and more than 8 billion pounds of copper, plus silver, lead and zinc. By the early 1900s, Bisbee's population exceeded 20,000, making it a bona fide Western metropolis.

The inevitable bust followed the boom, and the last mine closed in the mid-1970s. As blue-collar working folks moved out, those of an artistic temperament moved in. Shops and galleries opened, houses and shacks were refurbished, often set ablaze with color. Murals splashed across walls, odd sculptures sprang up in postage-stamp-size yards, and cars were adorned with paint, sod, even plastic toys. "Quirky" emerged as the currency of Bisbee's fledgling tourism industry.

In recent years, a new wave of artistic types answered the siren song of Bisbee, bringing with them different skill sets and vision. Building upon the off-kilter foundation already laid, they gently nudged the city in a slightly more upscale direction.

Today, Bisbee boasts an array of activities, top-notch galleries, fine dining and some of the most individualized accommodations found in the state. To get there from Phoenix, take Interstate 10 east past Tucson to Benson, then take Arizona 80 southeast to Bisbee. It's about 205 miles one way.

The colorful homes of Bisbee perch along the sides of the Mule Mountains.

An electrocardiogram, or EKG, is a simple test that doctors use to measure the electrical activity of the heart. This helps them look for underlying heart conditions.

Sometimes, an abnormal EKG reading is actually just a normal variation in a person's heart rhythm. In other cases, it may be due to an underlying condition of the heart or a reaction to a medication the person is taking.

An EKG reading is a helpful diagnostic tool. Once a doctor has identified the underlying condition, they can suggest appropriate treatment.

An EKG can help visualize the electrical activity of the heart.

To many people, an EKG is just a series of lines. However, each line corresponds to an electrical signal sent from the heart.

Doctors know how to read and interpret these lines, which gives them a sense of the overall state of the heart.

The administering doctor or healthcare professional will attach electrodes to a person's skin, typically at 10 different points around their chest and on the limbs.

Each heartbeat sends out an electrical impulse. These electrodes pick up this impulse and record the activity in a wave form on a graph.

All of this happens in the blink of an eye, which is why an EKG is so important. An EKG can catch all of these tiny details and record them for a doctor to analyze.

What causes an abnormal EKG?

An abnormal EKG means that there is something unexpected in the EKG reading. This is not always a sign of an unhealthy heart.

For instance, in 2015, researchers found that competitive sports athletes regularly had abnormal EKG readings.

The researchers indicated that the majority of these results were harmless and due to the person's adaptation to exercise. However, they still called for thorough screening to check for any other risk factors.

An EKG will pick up any irregularities in a person's heart rate.

The human heart typically beats at around 60–100 beats per minute. A heart that beats any faster or slower than this may indicate an underlying issue. A doctor will want to run additional tests to find the underlying cause.

Although it may vary slightly between each person, each heart keeps a steady rhythm. A person may physically feel changes in this rhythm, such as skipped heartbeats or feeling as though the heart is fluttering.

An EKG will help doctors see how and where the heart is beating out of rhythm but will only be able to record the irregularity if it happens during the test.

Since this is unlikely, doctors may recommend using a Holter monitor, which monitors the heart's activity for 24 hours or longer. This gives doctors a better opportunity to catch the irregularity.

An EKG gives doctors an idea of how hard the heart is working in each specific area. An abnormal EKG result can be a sign that one region or section of the heart is larger or thicker than the others.

A thickened heart could mean that the heart is working too hard to pump blood. This may be due to a congenital or acquired heart condition.

Electrolyte minerals are important for overall health, but they also play a role in heart health and may even cause an abnormal EKG.

Electrolytes conduct electricity in the body and help keep the heart rate and rhythm consistent. An imbalance in electrolyte minerals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium may cause an abnormal EKG reading.

Taking certain medications may cause abnormal EKG results.

Some medications may cause an abnormal EKG reading. Anyone who is getting an EKG should discuss any medications they are taking with a doctor. It may also help to check the list of side effects provided on the packaging.

Some medications that help balance the heart rhythm may actually cause abnormal heart rhythms in some people. Such medications include certain beta-blockers and sodium channel blockers.

If a doctor thinks that the type of medication a person is taking may be causing their symptoms, they may suggest alternatives and then do a follow-up EKG to see how the person responds to the new medication.

Other aspects of heart disease may lead to an abnormal EKG. For example, people with high blood pressure are more likely to have an abnormal EKG reading.

Sometimes, an abnormal EKG result may be a sign of a serious issue, such as a heart attack.

When a person has a heart attack, the heart can lose its fresh supply of blood, which can cause tissue damage and even cell death.

Damaged tissue will not conduct electricity as well as healthy tissue, which could cause the abnormal EKG reading.

What do EKG results look like for A-fib?

Atrial fibrillation causes the heart to beat in irregular time and can show up in an EKG. Learn more about the condition here.

Treatment for an abnormal EKG depends on the underlying issue. If the doctor suspects the abnormal EKG is a result of normal variances in the human heart, they may recommend no treatment at all.

If a certain medication is causing the abnormal readings, they may recommend an alternative. If the doctor suspects that a person has an electrolyte imbalance, they may suggest fluids or medications that contain electrolytes.

Other issues may require more individualized treatments. An arrhythmia may or may not require treatment. Most arrhythmias pose little to no risk to the person, as they may not cause symptoms or interfere with the heart's function.

On the other hand, some arrhythmias may interfere with the heart's ability to pump blood. If a heart is having trouble keeping a steady rhythm, a doctor may recommend medications or ask the person to wear a pacemaker to help restore the heart's rhythm.

Anyone having a heart attack will need emergency medical treatment. The person may also need to undergo surgeries such as angioplasty to keep the blood flowing and reduce damage to the tissues.

When do you need an EKG?

A doctor may recommend an EKG to diagnose or monitor heart conditions.

Many people will get an EKG reading at some point in their lives, often due to experiencing common symptoms such as chronic chest pain, shortness of breath, or a rapid pulse.

Doctors may also regularly use EKGs to check on people with diagnosed heart disease.

Another reason to get an EKG is experiencing heart palpitations or arrhythmia. A person may feel as though their heart skips a beat, that their heart is fluttering, or that it is beating very strongly.

Doctors may recommend an EKG here to check for any underlying issues. They may order additional tests depending on the results.

An EKG is a risk-free and noninvasive procedure. It does not send electricity into the body and will not cause any pain.

It is an important tool for diagnosing conditions affecting the heart. Most people will undergo an EKG at some point.

Although having an abnormal EKG can seem scary, it is important to understand that it is just one part of a proper diagnosis. Many things can cause an abnormal EKG, and not all of them are dangerous.

A doctor can recommend further tests to diagnose the underlying cause of a person's symptoms and EKG results.

Johnson, Jon. "What causes an abnormal EKG result?." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 9 Apr. 2019. Web.

Following months of uncertainty, police in the northern Pacific town of Tamarindo can now be certain of one thing – they won’t be evicted from their station.

The Public Security Ministry, in an agreement with the Municipality of Santa Cruz in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, will pay the rent through December for the current station at the privately owned Cabinas Maleko on the edge of Tamarindo.

The municipality, which is in charge of collecting taxes in Tamarindo, has never funded the police station. The station, instead, has relied on private donations to meet the $1,500 per month rent at Cabinas Maleko.

This year’s economic crisis has caused a drop in donations, and officials worried that police would have to move the station to the nearby hamlet of Villareal – a move that was forced in 2007 due to a lack of funding.

After two months, the police moved back to the edge of Tamarindo when they noticed a spike in crime.

“Villareal is too far away,” said Diego Chavarria, a Tamarindo police officer, who reasoned that the closer the police are to the downtown area, the better the service they can provide (TT, March 27).

Tamarindo community organizations are working with developers to build a permanent police station on a 1,800-square-meter lot that a private developer donated to the community in 2007.

Officials have said they hope to have the new location prepared before early next year.