This is a compact and very useful text written by Larry Tilley DVM, DACVIM and Naomi Burtnick, MT. It is part of the “Made Easy Series” and that I can attest to! ECG’s are one of those tricky things we see nearly every day but sometimes have no idea what we are looking at. This book will help solve the questions about those coded wavy lines.
The book starts out with the basics of ECG’s such as their practical application, review of the circulation and conduction system and the physiological properties of the cardiac muscle before segueing into the proper technique of acquiring an ECG and the basics of interpretation. The book even comes with a handy ECG ruler to help with measuring the complex intervals.
The book has multiple fragmented sections for quickly assessing arrhythmias and their classification, making this perfect for the busy ICU or anesthesia technician and clinician. Right after the “Quick and Dirty Guide” section the book moves forward with the building blocks of arrhythmia interpretation and helps the reader decode the subtle but important changes in QRS formations using your eyes and measuring calibers or ECG ruler.
Section 2 of the book then becomes a great resource for examples of arrhythmias ranging from disturbances of sinus impulse formations to escape rhythms and it even has a miscellaneous disturbances section to help rule out artifacts. Within each of the sections the authors cover what classifies the arrhythmia, associated conditions and treatment options. The book then ends with a helpful appendix filled with anti-arrhythmic drugs and dosages for dogs and cats.
I would highly recommend this book to all veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Veterinary educators would benefit tremendously using this text as a learning tool with its easy to follow format and simple techniques to learn ECG interpretation quickly as well as its numerous example ECG’s and easy to follow diagnosis lists. I personally keep the text in the first drawer of my anesthesia machine for quick and easy reference.
Publisher: Teton NewMedia (1999)
105 pages, spiral bound
ISBN: 189344100-8