The ECG in practice By: Hampton 4TH ED

What to expect of this book

I assume that the reader of this book will have the level of

knowledge of the ECG that is contained in The ECG Made Easy, to

which this is a companion volume. The ECG is indeed easy in

principle, but the variations in pattern seen both in normal people

and in patients with cardiac and other problems can make the

ECG seem more complex than it really is. This book concentrates

on these variations, and contains several examples of each

abnormality. It is thus intended for anyone who understands the

basics, but now wants to use the ECG to its maximum potential as

a clinical tool.

The ECG is not an end in itself, but is an extension of the history

and physical examination. Patients do not visit the doctor wanting

an ECG, but come either for a health check or because they have

symptoms. Therefore this book is organized according to clinical

situations, and the chapters cover the ECG in healthy subjects and

in patients with palpitations, syncope, chest pain, breathlessness

or non-cardiac diseases. To emphasize that the ECG is part of the

general assessment of a patient, each chapter begins with a brief

section on history and examination and ends with a short account

of what might be done once the ECG has been interpreted.

This edition adopts the philosophy of its predecessors regarding

the relative importance of the ECG and the individual in whom it

was recorded, but most of the illustrations are new and there is

now an emphasis on 12-lead ECGs, reproduced as realistically as is

possible in a small book. It begins with revision of The ECG Made

Easy, extended to cover the physiology and pathophysiology

underlying ECG patterns.