Best EKG book?

For learning - Dubbins worked wonders for me and it seems to be by far the most popular.

Dennis

 

The Only EKG Book You'll Ever Need
by Malcolm S. Thaler.

A wonderful book on the basics of ECG. <img border="0" alt="[Clappy]" title="" src="graemlins/clappy.gif" />

 

Rapid Interpretation of EKG's
by Dale Dubin

 

Let me add a big vote for Dubin. If every medical textbook were as clear med school would only take two years.

 

I also second and third for Dubbin's Rapid Interpretation of EKG's. However, it will only establish a foundation for reading EKG's. I found that a lot of EKG's in clinical rotations are not as simple to read. I believe it just takes constant practice and daily experience to get really good at it. After my fourth year "hiatus" I think I've already forgotten most of what I learned. Oh well.

 

Although <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0912912065/dissectionroo-20" target="_blank">Dubin's Rapid Interpretation of EKGs</a> is used by a lot of people as an introduction, another good book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0821413287/dissectionroo-20" target="_blank">The Guide to EKG Interpretation</a>.

 

Dubin is certainly good, but let me add some an alternative. I loved "A Practical Guide to ECG Interpretation" by Ken Grauer (ISBN:1556645570).

Take care,
Jeff

 

Grauer's EKG book is very good.

Mosby Lifeline produces a video called EZ ECG's. I used it in paramedic school and found it to be a very good overview.

If you are interested in learning 12-leads and not just rhythm interpretation, then check out "The 12-lead ECG in Acute [MI]" by Tim Phalen. An excellent book!

 

i agree that tim phalen's 12-lead book is the best 12-lead EKG book out there. it is very understandable and has great clinical correlations and tidbits.

later

 

I didn't like Dubin's book, wasn't very systematic and didn't explain the reasoning behind the interpretations enough. Plus I didn't like the format. But lots of people seem to think it is great, so just a matter of preference.

Btw, heard some rumor that Dubin was a child abuser or something like that...

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by beezar:
<strong>I didn't like Dubin's book, wasn't very systematic and didn't explain the reasoning behind the interpretations enough. Plus I didn't like the format. But lots of people seem to think it is great, so just a matter of preference.

Btw, heard some rumor that Dubin was a child abuser or something like that...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't know anything about Dubin, but I do know that it is irresponsible to pass along rumors like that. Besides, nobody was asking if Dubin was a good role model, simply if the book is helpful. If you think it might be a rumor, keep it to yourself.

 

I bought Dubin's, and unfortunately wish I had never read it. It is good for basics but piss-poor on anything beyond that. I wish I had gone with a more standard EKG text. I recently bought another EKG textbook, (its in the mail now), and hopefully it will be better. I'm a 4th year now and want to do EM... so EKG is vitally important to me. If you want to do rads or peds, Dubin will work.
Q

 

Yes, sorry dad.

I guess the entire pediatrics department at one medical school is irresponsible for encouraging students to boycott the Dubin book because of this rumor. I'll be sure to forward your message to them.

 

That rumor is definitely true. If you look in the publishing info (small print), he was giving a car away if anyone resonded to the address given. Only one guy from Yale did. Yale would not let good 'ol Dale on their campus because I think he was in jail for a couple of years. I think it was for child porn and maybe writing illegal prescriptions for himself. I think these were the reasons.

Hope this Helps!!

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by QuinnNSU:
<strong>It is good for basics but piss-poor on anything beyond that.Q</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you want a more comprehensive book, try Marriot's Practical Electrocardiography. ISBN: 0683307460

I'd never really 'got' axis deviation until I read this book. I could figure out the axis, but never really understood how I was doing it before this book.

Another one I really like is Taigman's Advanced Cardiology (In Plain English) by Mike Taigman, Syd Canan, Charly D. Miller. ISBN: 0893039993

You can take a look at both of these on Amazon. Just search on the ISBN number.

Take care,
Jeff

 

Yeah, sorry to be off topic, but it's not a rumor:

Dr. Dale Dubin had inserted the note into his 50th printing of his "Rapid Interpretation of EKGs," putting his classic Thunderbird up for grabs. Of the 60,000 who last year bought the book containing the offer, only five spotted the hidden message and contacted the publisher with news of their find. The five names were placed in a hat, and Jeffrey Seiden's was chosen at random. The 1965 Thunderbird convertible was delivered to him on 4 December 2001 by Dubin's daughter, who drove it to Seiden's school.

Yale officials heard of the contest only at the last minute, but they allowed the award to be made on campus and helped with some publicity. Since the textbook author's history has become known, the institution has done what it can to distance itself from the affair. When questioned about the award, Karen Peart, a university spokeswoman, said to the Hartford Courant: "This is not a Yale matter."

The school's reluctance to be associated with Dubin is understandable, given the doctor's history. Dubin is an ex-convict whose medical license was revoked after his 1986 Florida conviction on federal drug and child pornography charges, to which he pled guilty. He was sentenced to five years in a federal prison, served three-and-a-half, and was released in 1989.

From UPI:

March 7, 1987

A federal judge sentenced millionaire plastic surgeon Dale B. Dubin to five years in prison for what the judge called an obsession with pornography and cocaine that turned the doctor's life into a tragedy.
U.S. District Judge William J. Castagna told Dubin at a sentencing hearing Friday he could not see how a ''person of your talent, ability, education and interest in art,'' could have turned his life into such a ''tragedy and waste of such a rare and needed talent.''
Dubin pleaded guilty six weeks ago to 22 counts of child pornography and cocaine charges.
Eleven of the drug counts involved a 16-year-old girl who was seduced by Dubin with the help of pills and vodka and eventually agreed to participate in sexual encounters with Dubin, another 17-year-old girl and a 23-year-old woman.
Dubin videotaped some of the encounters for his pleasure. The incidents took place at two of his condominiums and the Pasco County nudist resort of Paradise Lake.
He is expected to serve his time in a minimum security facility where he will be able to receive drug counseling.
U.S. Attorney Robert W. Merkle, who prosecuted the case, told Castagna that no crimes ''are more violent than the use of child pornography and the distribution of narcotics.'' He said Dubin's attempt to minimize his activities as just a ''lifestyle'' was a ''new low in euphemisms.''
Merkle said it was particularly aggravating that Dubin used his medical knowledge to satisfy his own appetite and risk the lives and mental health of his victims.
Dubin, 47, stood with his head bowed throughout the 40-minute hearing Friday. Except for a few mumbled words about a letter to the judge, he did not say anything.
In that letter, Dubin complained of the ''lurid display'' of his case by prosecutors and claimed details of his activities were ''egregiously distorted'' by the press. He also spoke of his sexual escapades as examples of ''an occasional clandestine soiree.''
Dubin was arrested Aug. 11 at the mansion in Lutz, Fla. he called Hassle Free, after being sucked into a child pornography sting by sending off a $100 bill to buy films including ''Barbarian Girls.''
The Dubin story received extensive news coverage as his doctors unsuccessfully tried to have him committed to a mental hospital for treatment of what they called potentially suicidal depression, and Merkle countered by adding details of the case into the court record.

 

Man, what a downer.

Ken Grauer is a faculty member here at UF, so naturally, his was the recommended text. I really got a lot out of it, and I find myself referring back to it just to retain my interpretation skills. Several of my classmates also did very well with the Dubin. Another source I'd recommend is Leonard Lilly's "Pathophysiology of Heart Disease". In addition to being an excellent text on heart disease in general, you will find a concise and well written guide to EKG interpretation in Chapter 4.

BTW, Dr. Grauer also has available a "Pocket Brain" for EKG interpretation. It's 60 pages of the bare essentials, and serves as a nice quick reference. Anyone interested can check it out at <a href="http://www.kg-ekgpress.com" target="_blank">www.kg-ekgpress.com</a>

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by G'ville Nole:
<strong>BTW, Dr. Grauer also has available a "Pocket Brain" for EKG interpretation.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pocket Brain rocks. I used to strongly recommend it to my paramedic students and they almost uniformly gave it great reviews.

Take care,
Jeff