Phlebotomy (CPT) and EKG (CET)
EKG practice test for the NHA CET exam
Pick a domain, answer ten questions on EKG work and read why each answer is right. Your answers are kept in this browser only.
CET · practice
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| Study target: 8 of 10 (80%), not the official passing score |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the public outline; not questions from the real exam. Progress stays in this browser.
The Certified EKG Technician exam (CET) of the National Healthcareer Association is the national credential most employers ask of technicians who record electrocardiograms in hospitals, cardiology offices and clinics. It has 120 questions, 100 of them scored, to answer in 2 hours. The current test plan, based on a 2017 job analysis, puts 44% of the scored questions on EKG acquisition: preparing the patient and the skin, placing the ten electrodes of a 12-lead tracing, running the machine and recognizing artifacts. Safety, compliance and coordinated patient care take 32%, and analysis and interpretation, the basic reading of rate and rhythm, 24%. Candidates also document 10 EKGs on live people. The NHA has announced a new version of the exam for Winter 2027/2028. This practice test serves ten questions at a time from the domain you choose, each with its explanation.
Heart rate from an EKG strip
Heart rate
75 bpm
- Small box
- 0.04 s
- Large box
- 0.20 s
- Adult resting range 60 to 100
- 60 to 100
Type the speed printed on the strip; a box lasts its width in mm divided by that speed. Exam arithmetic, not a reading of a real tracing.
Questions, formats and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The three domains of the CET test plan
| Domain | Share of scored questions | Questions in a full mock | Questions in our pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety, Compliance and Coordinated Patient Care | 32% | 38 | 48 |
| EKG Acquisition | 44% | 53 | 68 |
| EKG Analysis and Interpretation | 24% | 29 | 39 |
Acquisition is the heart of the exam: patient identification and preparation, skin preparation, electrode placement for a 12-lead EKG and for rhythm strips, machine settings, checking the tracing for quality and handing it to the right person. Safety and coordinated care adds infection control, privacy, communication with the patient and the care team, and responding to a patient who becomes unwell during the test. Analysis covers the paper grid, the waves and intervals, heart rate, and the rhythms a technician must recognize and report.
Electrode placement, the most tested skill
A standard 12-lead EKG uses ten electrodes: four on the limbs and six on the chest. The chest positions are taught from the sternal angle down to the intercostal spaces:
- V1: fourth intercostal space, right edge of the sternum.
- V2: fourth intercostal space, left edge of the sternum.
- V4: fifth intercostal space, left midclavicular line.
- V3: halfway between V2 and V4.
- V5: anterior axillary line, level with V4.
- V6: midaxillary line, level with V4 and V5.
Questions often describe a tracing that looks wrong and ask what was misplaced, or ask where to place V4 on a patient with large breasts (under the breast tissue, at the fifth space). Limb electrodes go on the arms and legs, away from bone and large muscle when possible, at the same level on each side.
Reading the strip: the arithmetic
The grid is physical. A small box is 1 mm wide and a large box 5 mm; at the usual paper speed of 25 mm per second, a small box lasts 0.04 seconds and a large box 0.2 seconds. The heart rate follows: 1,500 divided by the small boxes between two R waves, 300 divided by the large boxes, or the number of complexes on a six-second strip times ten for irregular rhythms. The calculator above does that arithmetic for any paper speed, and the heart rate page explains each method with worked examples.
CET · practice
0 / 0
correct out of answered
Pick an answer to start
| Study target: 4 of 5 (80%), not the official passing score |
Practice questions written by Radif Partners from the public outline; not questions from the real exam. Progress stays in this browser.
How to practice
Work through acquisition first, since it carries the most questions and the most practical rules. Then alternate safety and analysis sets. Every wrong answer is kept in this browser and served again on the review page. When each domain is above the 80% study target in two sets in a row, take the full CET mock: 120 questions in 2 hours, corrected at the end.
These questions are written by us from the test plan topics; they are not questions from the real exam. The rates and ranges they use are exam knowledge; for adults at rest, MedlinePlus gives 60 to 100 beats a minute. Nothing here is a way to read a real patient's tracing.