The Practice of Electrocardiography. A Problem-Solving Guide to Confident Interpretation.

Blake, FA (Wachsmuth, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, GA.)

ISBN 10: 0896032612 / ISBN 13: 9780896032613

Published by Humana Press Inc., 1994

About this Item

Offering an approach to the art of EKG interpretation, this title shows how the four measurements needed to examine a tracing (orientation, duration, amplitude, and contour of each component) may be used with consistency and medical rigor for distinguishing normal and abnormal EKG patterns. Num Pages: 319 pages, 45 black & white illustrations, biography. BIC Classification: MBG; MJD. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 19. Weight in Grams: 1090. . 1994. Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1994. Paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780896032613

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Practice of Electrocardiography. A Problem-Solving Guide to Confident Interpretation.
• Publisher: Humana Press Inc.
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0896032612
• ISBN 13: 9780896032613
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Electrocardiography is a mature discipline, so familiar to both doctors and patients that it's hardly noticed, one of those tests that have always been there, like the white count and hemoglobin, not something one has to think about much, or question. To some extent this view is valid, but it overlooks some important points. Like the white count and hemoglobin, electrocardiograms are produced by technicians using mechanical devices that turn out numbers, but there is a difference. The white count and hemoglobin are reported as single values to be interpreted by the doctor who knows the patient and ordered the test, but the graph produced by an EKG machine represents millions of numbers displayed as XY plots, a message written in a language different from one's own. It requires transla­ tion, and this means that the translator must not only know the lan­ guage, but also be able to assess the effects on it of the many factors that may have modified its meaning between origin and delivery. There is potential for harm to the patient, as well as for help, in every facet of the process, and to lose sight of this, to see the tracing as a single whole, would be like seeing words as units without con­ sidering the letters that compose them. When we read, we do recog­ nize whole words, patterns, but, having learned the letters first, revert to this base intuitively when we encounter a new word, or one that is misspelled.

Review

...a unique guide to the interpretation of the electrocardiogram...provide(s) a clear insightful method of the analysis of ECGs based on clinical reasoning as opposed to simple pattern recognition and rote memorization...a logical, entertaining and instructive guide...- Doody's Health Sciences Book Review Journal