EKG 101: Basic Electrocardiogram Interpretation

Over 100 hundred years since its invention (1903) and introduction to clinical medicine by Willem Einthoven (Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1924), the Electrocardiogram (EKG) remains an invaluable diagnostic modality in the evaluation of all patients. Its ability to provide meaningful and acute clinical insight regarding disease processes involving diverse pathologies atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, pericardial effusion, cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease, electrolyte abnormalities, drug toxicities and more make the EKG an essential aspect of medical care.

EKG interpretation remains a cornerstone of clinical diagnostic evaluation and assessment for all healthcare providers. Learning basic EKG interpretation is a challenging responsibility that must occur early in the educational process to ensure and establish a lasting foundation. Understanding basic EKG interpretation is a fundamental and requisite clinical skill necessary to provide perennial quality medical care.

EKG 101 addresses this significant challenge and obligation by incorporating the feedback of thousands of students and healthcare professionals regarding the optimal pedagogies for learning EKG diagnostic evaluation. The multi-faceted didactic format, including a comprehensive and extensive glossary, concise and instructive text, tables, flow chart algorithms, illustrative diagrams, and key points, coupled with detailed highlighting of over 140 diagnostic EKGs (followed by unlabeled EKGs for review) represents a unique approach to learning EKG diagnostic evaluation. The emphasized association between cardiac conduction physiology/pathology, clinical cardiology and EKG findings ensures a lasting understanding of EKG interpretation.