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Abbreviations: ECG – electrocardiogram RAD – right axis deviation RVH – right ventricular hypertrophy ECGs are good screening tests to look for certain cardiac abnormalities. There are distinct ECG criteria identifying right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH), which can be easily memorized and ascertained with a little knowledge of cardiac anatomy and electrical conduction properties. Below, I […]

What is the best way to understand an issue? I try to define the terms, deduce how everything fits together, and then make a diagnosis. Reading electrocardiograms (ECGs; EKGs) is no different – Define, Deduce, and Diagnose. As basic as this may sound, interpreting an EKG takes knowing the basic definitions of the waveforms, understanding […]

Differentiating atrioventricular (AV) blocks is a simple process as long as you understand some of the patterns. Here I will explain the different AV blocks, describe the part of the AV nodes involved in each block, and then show you how to figure one out from the other. These are all explained further and with […]

Heart failure (HF), also called congestive heart failure, is one of the most common hospital diagnoses and therefore is encountered by almost every medical specialty. This article summarizes and simplifies HF. What Is Heart Failure Although HF is a diagnosis upon itself, I view it as a clinical syndrome that always has another cause. As […]

Healthcare providers need to be able to recognize the symptoms, and risk factors of heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) as well as know the ECG criteria and basic treatments. This article reviews the signs and symptoms of myocardial infarctions, elaborates on the risk factors, teaches the ECG criteria of heart attacks and describes basic treatments. What […]

During my internal medicine residency, one of our cardiologists would constantly pimp us on arrhythmias. We all had to memorize that arrhythmias were “abnormalities of impulse formation and/or conduction.” But, let’s get real – arrhythmias are simply abnormal heartbeats. There are many ways to classify arrhythmias, multiple means for diagnosing arrhythmias and numerous causes of […]

Patients frequently ask me how I choose their tests and treatment. Tests, I say, confirm or exclude my clinical diagnoses. In addition, the result of a test should alter my decision making process for their care. I only suggest a treatment that will help them live longer, prevent something bad from happening, or make them […]

Cardiac diagnoses are common in the adult general practice setting. Obtaining an accurate cardiac diagnosis relies on three main aspects. These are: 1) a detailed history; 2) a comprehensive cardiac physical examination and; 3) an electrocardiogram. Learn how to perform an expert cardiac evaluation. Detailed Patient History In general, a cardiovascular history looks for four […]

A routine, preoperative electrocardiogram (ECG) is obtained on many patients over a certain age based on hospital and surgicenter protocols. If it is abnormal, then the task of ”cardiac clearance” falls on the cardiologist or primary provider. How does an abnormal ECG effect a patient’s preoperative evaluation? Preoperative Assessment Algorithm The preoperative assessment algorithm looks […]