[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zuerst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey do you know of good online sources where I can look up different heart condition and their corresponding waveforms? I'm really bulding a multi-purpose bioamplifier for EKG, EEG, EOG, and EMG measurements. The amp also needs to feed into a computer with LabVIEW, and then LabVIEW is used to do signal processing to analyze the various bio-signals and display some diagnostic results.

I have a really basic understanding of the working of an EKG, for my purposes I just need to know the physics and physiology of the vector's and Einthoven's Triangle. And understanding voltage flow, quadrants, etc.

Unfortunately I don't know any good online resources for reading EKGs.

I can recommend some outstanding books but they might go over your head if you don't understand the physiology and anatomy of the heart. I recommend understanding this first before you dive into EKG waveforms (they're really pretty complex, took me a cardiology rotation before I wrapped my head around them).

I don't know what to recommend for a crash course, but I would start with:

Snell - Clinical Anatomy for Medical Students (this is an incredible text book that doesn't bore you with mundane details like Grays Anatomy or Moores)

Ganong - Review of Medical Physiology (aside from actual cardiology text books, this has the best explanation of the heart's physiology. I know people that skipped cards week in phys and understood it perfectly after reading this)

EKG books:
Aehlert - EKGs Made Easy (easy to start with)

Beasley - Understanding EKG A Practical Approach (more detail than you'll ever need. I'm sure only a cardiology attending or fellow would need more, even then doubtful)

If your university has a medical school, all of these books would definitely be in their library.

I hope this works out well, I'm really passionate about cardiology and hope to spend my life as one. EKGs are one of the simplest but most useful tools we have in diagnosing any number of heart conditions

 

[jules650]

http://www.ecglibrary.com/ecghome.html

And 'ECG made easy' is a pretty good start if you can find a copy. There seems to be an adequate amount of expertise in ECG interpretation on this forum so feel free to ask if you need any help.

 

[Zuerst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a really basic understanding of the working of an EKG, for my purposes I just need to know the physics and physiology of the vector's and Einthoven's Triangle. And understanding voltage flow, quadrants, etc. Unfortunately I don't know any good online resources for reading EKGs. I can recommend some outstanding books but they might go over your head if you don't understand the physiology and anatomy of the heart. I recommend understanding this first before you dive into EKG waveforms (they're really pretty complex, took me a cardiology rotation before I wrapped my head around them). I don't know what to recommend for a crash course, but I would start with: Snell - Clinical Anatomy for Medical Students (this is an incredible text book that doesn't bore you with mundane details like Grays Anatomy or Moores) Ganong - Review of Medical Physiology (aside from actual cardiology text books, this has the best explanation of the heart's physiology. I know people that skipped cards week in phys and understood it perfectly after reading this) EKG books: Aehlert - EKGs Made Easy (easy to start with) Beasley - Understanding EKG A Practical Approach (more detail than you'll ever need. I'm sure only a cardiology attending or fellow would need more, even then doubtful) If your university has a medical school, all of these books would definitely be in their library. I hope this works out well, I'm really passionate about cardiology and hope to spend my life as one. EKGs are one of the simplest but most useful tools we have in diagnosing any number of heart conditions

Haha, I might as well start looking at Grays anatomy since I'm starting med school this coming fall.

 

[jules650]

Grays is insanely detailed and is probably more of a museum piece now that there are textbooks like Snell which has more of a clinical focus. I'm really grateful I never had to study anatomy using Grays. It is, however, the quintessential anatomy textbook and has some nice looking diagrams. (which I can appreciate more from an artistic rather than from a learning point of view) I believe the online version is available for free on Yahoo.

In order to interpret ECGs (at this stage at least) you can probably get away with knowing very minimal anatomy.

 

[Zuerst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jules650 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grays is insanely detailed and is probably more of a museum piece now that there are textbooks like Snell which has more of a clinical focus. I'm really grateful I never had to study anatomy using Grays. It is, however, the quintessential anatomy textbook and has some nice looking diagrams. (which I can appreciate more from an artistic rather than from a learning point of view) I believe the online version is available for free on Yahoo. In order to interpret ECGs (at this stage at least) you can probably get away with knowing very minimal anatomy.

Yeah, I'm just basically looking for something like a QRS complex with a reduced amplitude means this, an elongated P wave represents that, a depressed T wave means...etc.

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zuerst /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I'm just basically looking for something like a QRS complex with a reduced amplitude means this, an elongated P wave represents that, a depressed T wave means...etc.

You could just memorize all those details, but it's not going to tell you anything about the condition, unless this is all you need to know for your project or presentation.

If you understand the anatomy and physiology you can look at any EKG just knowing the rules of the vectors and quadrants and be able to pinpoint where any bundle branch block, infarction, etc happens just by looking at the leads.

The anatomy of the heart is incredibly simple. Without going into the great vessels, and knowing just the blood supply/conduction system it wouldn't take someone more than a few hours.

Maybe I'm crazy for suggesting this to an undergrad student, but hey you'll be ahead of the rest of your class when you enter M1

 

[BPRJam]

What you want is Dubin's "Rapid Interpretation of EKG's".

A most excellent book. Easy to read, easy use as a reference, and comprehensive enough for most med students.

It's a good book for stuff like this. I use my copy all the time.

BPRJam