Customer Reviews
An easy guide - By: E. Barnes, 02 Nov 2008 
This book is ideal for anybody that is a beginner at ECG's! The book is a basic introduction to ECG's & what to look out for.
The book is split into sections, which starts with what an ECG is & what 'normal' ones look like, which is great for a beginner or somebody that needs a refresher. The book then carries on to explain how to complete ECG'sin a step by step guide, carrying on to abnormal readings & what may cause this for example AF. However, the book does not go into detail of what AF is & how to treat this, therefore additional A & P books may be required.
This is the 7th edition of the book & the main difference is the size of the book, it is now smaller & allows the ECG examples to be printed on one page & appear as if they would from an actual ECG machine. This is a great advantage as you are able to see actual examples without needing to try & establish what they should look likein practice.
The book is writtenin straight forward language which is easy to understand without being baffled with science, there is a good use of diagrams & explanations throughout the book & reasons of why things appear as they do.
I would recommend this book for anybody that wants a basic introduction to ECGs!
The basics, that's it - By: Dr. F. Mcelwaine, 03 May 2008 
I used this book as a student & it helped me familiarise myself with basic ECG interpretation to a level acceptable for a student, but to move forward takes experience on the wards seeing real ECGs of real patients. A good starting point but by no means comprehensive. I understood the cardiac axis better before I read this book, but maybe that's just me.
Very disappointing - By: D. Collyer, 20 Feb 2008 
I'm afraid I gave up on this book after just chapter 1. I can't believe that a book that markets itself as an "idiot's guide" & that has been through 6 editions remains so confusingly written.
For example, the explanation of 'leads' is muddled at best, & the terms 'VL', 'VF' & 'VR' are seemingly plucked out of the air on page 8 with no meaningful explanation.
I do believe that ECG interpretation can be made (relatively) easily understandable, but I doubt this will be the book to do it for most people.
Not brilliant but useful intro to ECGs - By: KL, 14 Sep 2006 Interpreting ECGs is difficult, at least at the start, for most medical students. This book doesn't quite make ECGs easy but it does help to provide a reasonable introduction into how to begin understanding what the little lines & squiggles mean.
It starts off with basic info on the rate, rhythm & axis of ECGs then has a chapter on each of the main arrhythmias you'll come across. Some of the very basicsin chapter one are not described very well (in particular, the cardiac axis paragraphs), occasionally lacking clarity & depth but they do use plenty of pictures to demonstrate what they are explaining to you & after a couple of reads you will begin to see what they are getting at.
Others have commented that the book could do with some more clinical details but I disagree - you should have a medical text book containing a section on cardiology already. I see it as a bonus that this pocket-sized book limits itself to the difficult enough topic of interpreting ECGs.
Lastly, there are 10 practice ECGs at the end for you to test yourseslf on, with answers explained fully.
Overall, I found it to be a useful book that can give you a reasonable introduction as to how to start reading, interpreting & presenting ECGs to your colleagues. It was great for last minute cramming before OSCE-type exams (at GKT anyway!), & should be good for anyone who doesn't have a kindly cardiologist who wants to teach you how to read them him/herself!
The best introduction to ECGs. - By: DelWij, 18 Feb 2006 
On first reading, the ECG seemed slighlty clearer, a little bit more understandable. The book starts with clear first principles without being too complicated. On second reading I started start to understand some of the different CV pathologies & their respective ECGs. Then after a break of two years & a third reading, thought I was back at square one. Then on reading number four it all clicked into place - its a bit like riding a bike. So buy it....but don't expect miracles, it may take several readings to grasp the concepts intuitively but once you've got them, they really stick - then you just need to practice.
