Which artifact can result from poor electrode placement on an ECG?

Muscle artifact is indeed an outcome of poor electrode placement on an ECG. This type of artifact occurs when there is interference from the electrical activity of skeletal muscles, often due to the patient's movement or tension during the recording. If the electrodes are not positioned correctly, they may pick up excessive noise from the muscles instead of the heart's electrical signals, leading to irregular or erratic waveforms on the ECG trace.

Proper electrode placement minimizes muscle interference, ensuring that the ECG reflects only cardiac activity. This highlights the importance of proper technique in obtaining accurate and reliable ECG readings, as it affects both the quality of the data presented and the interpretability by healthcare professionals. Other artifacts, while they may also result from improper technique or placement, do not stem specifically from muscle interference in the same manner as muscle artifact does.