12-Lead Ecg: The Art of Interpretation

Rating:
Summary: Simply The Best!
Review: I have been teaching 12 Lead ECGs and Acute Coronary Syndromes for several years now, and I have read just about every book available on the topic. I can tell you without a doubt that this is the most comprehensive 12 lead book I have ever owned. Garcia and Holtz have truly done a service to the medical communtiy by compiling this book.

I love the way this book is arranged. Part I of the book (about 70 pages) deals with anatomy, physiology, basic rhythm interpretation, and the nuts and bolts of electrocardiography. Part II of the book (the remaining 600 plus pages) deals with the art of interpretation. Garcia and Holtz are innovative. Explanations are color coded into various levels of difficulty. If you are new to 12 leads, you can stick to level 1 explanations (blue). If you're getting the hang of things, or have some experience already, you can take it to level 2 (green). Or, if you're at the physician level, you're sure to enjoy the level III commentary (orange). This makes _12-Lead ECG The Art of Interpretation_ the gift that keeps on giving as you become more proficient at 12 lead interpretation.

If you're only interested in identifying acute myocardial infarction, then you might want to consider Tim Phalen's book. It will tell you everything you need to know. However, if you really want to learn how to read a 12 lead ECG, then this book is definitely for you. Whether it's atrial enlargemt, a depolarization abnormality, drug effect, ischemia, or just about anything else you can think of, you're likely to find several outstanding examples in this book.

It's well worth the investment.

Rating:
Summary: Something for Everyone
Review: This book is fantastic, and in my opinion is of a much better quality and more user-friendly than the Dubin text ("Rapid Interpretation of EKGs") that is so widely lauded. For a start, Dr. Garcia and Mr. Holtz have a wonderful, friendly, amusing, down-to-earth style of writing that is without the pretense so common among books geared to medical professionals. The three level system is great for prioritizing the material into what you absolutely must know versus things that are nice to know but can wait. Level 1 breaks down the basics into the true basics, assumes you know nothing (or almost nothing, which is a significant number of 3rd year med students like me! After cramming so much for so long, there's bound to be brain leakage...) Levels 2 and 3 are great, but are probably beyond the scope of anything a med student is likely to see on a shelf exam or even the USMLE Steps 1 and 2. Could be wrong, but that's the impression I have so far. If you have the time, it certainly can't hurt. At any rate, this book is a very easy read, full of nice big pictures and pretty colors (great for tired eyes and visual learners in general), and is perhaps the only book I've read on the subject thus far that has actually stuck with me! At the very least, make this a strongly recommended buy to your school's librarian, but you'll probably want a copy for yourself as well.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best EKG books available, esp for med students
Review: This book is fantastic, and in my opinion is of a much better quality and more user-friendly than the Dubin text ("Rapid Interpretation of EKGs") that is so widely lauded. For a start, Dr. Garcia and Mr. Holtz have a wonderful, friendly, amusing, down-to-earth style of writing that is without the pretense so common among books geared to medical professionals. The three level system is great for prioritizing the material into what you absolutely must know versus things that are nice to know but can wait. Level 1 breaks down the basics into the true basics, assumes you know nothing (or almost nothing, which is a significant number of 3rd year med students like me! After cramming so much for so long, there's bound to be brain leakage...) Levels 2 and 3 are great, but are probably beyond the scope of anything a med student is likely to see on a shelf exam or even the USMLE Steps 1 and 2. Could be wrong, but that's the impression I have so far. If you have the time, it certainly can't hurt. At any rate, this book is a very easy read, full of nice big pictures and pretty colors (great for tired eyes and visual learners in general), and is perhaps the only book I've read on the subject thus far that has actually stuck with me! At the very least, make this a strongly recommended buy to your school's librarian, but you'll probably want a copy for yourself as well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent study guide
Review: This book is hands down the best book on EKG interpretation I've ever used. Garcia and Holtz start you from the basics and go no where but up to the top, all the while drilling in the concepts with repeat practice EKGs. This is what makes it extremely practical - you'll be able to put the information you learn to use right away. If you're just starting to learn about EKGs, this book is well worth the cost

Rating:
Summary: Excellent study guide
Review: This book is hands down the best book on EKG interpretation I've ever used. Garcia and Holtz start you from the basics and go no where but up to the top, all the while drilling in the concepts with repeat practice EKGs. This is what makes it extremely practical - you'll be able to put the information you learn to use right away. If you're just starting to learn about EKGs, this book is well worth the cost

Rating:
Summary: Helpful
Review: This book provided good diagrams that have singlehandedly trained me in the interpertation of ECGs.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Learning Aid!!!!
Review: This book was excellent. Comprehensive text, very readable, great graphics, hundreds of full sized ecgs in color. Three levels of mastery helped to simplify the process of learning to interpret ecgs. Recommend this book highly!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Learning Aid!!!!
Review: This book was excellent. Comprehensive text, very readable, great graphics, hundreds of full sized ecgs in color. Three levels of mastery helped to simplify the process of learning to interpret ecgs. Recommend this book highly!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Something for Everyone
Review: This is an excellent book. It is well laid out and easy to follow with enough information to satisfy most potential users, regardless of knowledge base.
I highly recommend this book if you are serious about learning 12 lead interpritation. If you are strictly looking for rhythm interpritation, there are better.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent 12 Lead ECG Book for All Levels
Review: This is by far the best book for learning and refining 12-lead ECG interpretation skills that I have read. The material is structured so that it can be used as a classroom text or as a self-guided teaching tool. Within the book, Garcia and Holtz divide the material into three clearly marked levels from a basic review of cardiac physiology through an advanced level of ECG interpretation. The text is written in an easy-to-read, conversational style and the graphics and ECG tracings are some of the best I've ever seen in this kind of book. On top of this, Garcia and Holtz have included plenty of useful diagnostic pearls throughout each chapter, making this a highly readable and educational book. I use levels one and two to teach my paramedic students the fundamentals of 12-lead ECG interpretation. I also recommend Garcia and Miller's "Arrhythmia Recognition: The Art of Interpretation" (ISBN 0763722464) as a rhythm interpretation reference.