Electrocardiogram interpreting

An arrhythmia may occur as a result of heart disease or from a disorder that affects cardiovascular function. Conditions such as emotional stress, hypoxia, and electrolyte imbalance also may trigger an arrhythmia An electrocardiogram (ECG) provides a record of the electrical activity of the heart. Careful interpretation of the ECG along with a thorough physical assessment is necessary to determine the cause and type of arrhythmia The goal of antiarrhythmic drug therapy is to restore normal cardiac function and to prevent life-threatening arrhythmias. 

A number of studies have included outcome variables with real world medical task components, either simulated or actual (see below) work performance measures. For example, one early study that examined the performance of 14 medical interns on an electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation task in both the rested (mean 7.0 hr of sleep, range 5.5—8.5 hr) and the sleep-deprived state (mean 1.8 hr, range 0-3.8 hr) found both efficiency and accuracy of performance were... 

Willems JL, Abreu-Lima C, Arnaud P et al. The diagnostic performance of computer programs for the interpretation of electrocardiograms. N Engl J Med 1991 325 1767. 

Measurement of electrical activity in the heart, now known as the electrocardiogram (ECG), was introduced about 75 years ago by Willem Einthoven. The ECG is simple to perform and is the most frequently used, least invasive, and cheapest cardiovascular test. ° It remains the procedure of first choice for evaluation of chest pain, dizziness, or syncope. In its simplest interpretation, the ECG characterizes rhythms and conduction abnormalities. However, the ECG also provides, by inference, information about the anatomy and structures of the heart, pathophysiologic changes, and hemodynamics of the CVD system. ECG abnormalities are often the earliest sign of adverse drug effects, ischemia, and electolyte abnormalities. 

Interpreting Electrocardiograms Using Basic Principles and Vector Concepts, J. Willis Hurst... 

Reviews of the effects of sleep deprivation in other domains show substantial effects on a variety of mental tasks, sustained vigilance and motor skills. Studies in clinical settings have demonstrated a decrement in surgical skills after a night on call (Tafflnder et al, 1998), reduced ability to interpret electrocardiograms... 

Many studies have reported the occurrence of human errors in the interpretation of medical results from x-rays, electrocardiograms, CAT scans, and sonograms [23,27]. The image misinterpretation problem is often associated with junior and inexperienced doctors [23,27,28]. Additional information on this topic is available in Refs. [23,29]. 

Gillespie ND, Brett CT, Morrison WG, Pringle SD. Interpretation of the emergency electrocardiogram in junior hospital doctors. J Accid Emerg Med 1996 13 395-397. 

Eslava D, DhiUon S, Berger J, Homel P, Bergmann S (2009) Interpretation of electrocardiograms by first-year residents the need for change. J Electrocardiol 42 693-697 Esposito S, Bianchini S, Blasi F (2015) BedaquUine and delamanid in tuberculosis. Expert Opin Pharmacother 16 2319—2330... 

Schwartz PJ, Garson A, Jr. Paul T, Stramba-Badiale M, Vetter JL, Viliam E, Wren C. (2002) Guidelines for the interpretation of the neonatal electrocardiogram. Eur Heart J 23 1329 4. 

Pettis, K., et al., Evaluation of the efficacy of hand-held computer screens for cardiologists interpretations of 12-lead electrocardiograms. American Heart Journal, 1999. 138(4) p. 765-770. 

The top of a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recording typically includes patient identification information and an interpretation by the machine. A rhythm strip commonly appears at the bottom of the recording. 

Over the years, many students and clinicians have asked me to recommend a book that covers electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation quickly and simply but with enough detail to build knowledge and confidence. Until now, 1 haven t had much to recommend because most ECG books are so complicated and impractical that even interested nurses lose heart. 

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