Main description:

An essential reference for students and practitioners working with exercise electrocardiograms (ECGs), Practical ECG forExercise Science and Sports Medicine guides readers from theory to applied interpretation of normal and abnormal ECG traces. The text is based on the authors' clinical experience, published research, and over a decade of dedicated study on the interpretation of ECGs from clinical patients to elite athletes both at rest and during exercise.

This resource offers clear protocols for ECGs with an emphasis on athletes. With over 70 ECG readouts to examine, readers can practice and refine their ECG interpretation skills and increase their understanding of heart conditions identifiable through ECG testing. Troubleshooting tips throughout the text provide quick solutions to problems that may occur during ECG testing, and detailed information on interpreting the ECGs is provided for numerous conditions that practitioners are likely to encounter in real-life practice.

Divided into three parts, Practical ECG for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine begins with an overview of heart anatomy and function and a review of the methods for monitoring heart rate and function. Part II of the text describes the ECG in detail at rest and during exercise, with an emphasis on measurement and interpretation. In particular, chapter 4 examines normal and abnormal ECG findings with a detailed discussion of cardiac abnormalities. Each abnormality is accompanied by a sample ECG trace. Chapter 5 focuses on the how the exercise ECG may be used as a tool in the identification of a variety of pathologies, including coronary artery disease and exercise-induced arrhythmias, and how the ECG can assist in the differentiation of pathologic and physiologic enlargement of the left ventricle.

A special focus on the athlete's heart follows in part III. Because physiologic adaptations associated with chronic physical training may mimic those observed in pathologic processes, part III discusses the anomalies often present in athletic individuals at rest and during exercise. This part also includes six case studies, which discuss specific problems encountered in dealing with athletes' hearts and provide in-depth examples of conditions identifiable through an exercise ECG.

Because the ECG is so widely used in the assessment of cardiac electrical function, morphology, and circulation, understanding a normal ECG at rest and during exercise and being able to interpret findings are becoming increasingly important for noncardiologists, including health professionals, sports medicine specialists, physiotherapists, clinical exercise physiologists, and sport and exercise scientists. With its straightforward approach, Practical ECG for ExerciseScience and Sports Medicine is a valuable resource for those studying and working in the field of exercise, sports medicine, and sport science as well as health professionals working with athletic and sedentary individuals at rest and in exercise stress testing.

Contents:

Part I Structure and Function of the Heart

Chapter 1 The Heart

Cardiac Anatomy

Cardiac Function

Electrical Properties of the Heart

Electrocardiography

Contractile Properties of the Heart

Exercise and the Heart

Key Points

Chapter 2 Monitoring the Electrical Activity of the Heart

Palpation

Heart Rate Monitors

Electrocardiography at Rest and During Exercise

Exercise Modalities and Protocols

Ambulatory ECG monitors

Implantable Loop Recorders

Key Points

Part II The ECG

Chapter 3 Normal ECG at Rest

Reading the ECG

Interpreting the ECG

Common Mistakes in Preparing and Placing Leads (Troubleshooting)

Key Points

Chapter 4 Abnormal ECG at Rest

Brady arrhythmias

Tachyarrhythmias

ECG Abnormalities in Diseases of the Coronary Circulation: Ischemia and Myocardial Infarction

Unusual ECG Abnormalities

Key Points

Chapter 5 ECG During Exercise

Normal ECG Responses During and Postexercise

Evaluation of Individuals with Known or Suspected Exercise- or Exertion-Related Arrhythmias

ECG Exercise Stress Testing in the Diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Key Points

Part III The Athletes' Heart

Chapter 6 The Athlete's Heart: Physiological Versus Pathological

Cardiac Structure and Function in Highly Trained Athletes

Electrocardiogram (ECG) of an Athlete

Arrhythmias and the Athlete

Syncope and the Athlete

Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) in athletes

Preparticipation Screening

Key Points

Chapter 7 Athlete Case Studies

Case Study 1: Spontaneous Atrial Fibrillation in a Freestyle Skier.

Case Study 2: Exercise-Induced Vasodepressor Syncope in an Elite Rower: A Treatment Dilemma

Case Study 3: Prevalence and Significance of an Isolated Long QT Interval in Elite Athletes

Case Study 4: Differentiation of RVOT-VT and ARVC in an Elite Athlete

Case Study 5: Treat the Patient Not the Blood Test: The Implications of an Elevation in Cardiac Troponin Following Prolonged Endurance Exercise

Case Study 6: Acute Myocardial Infarction in the Presence of Normal Coronaries and the Absence of Risk Factors in a Young, Lifelong Regular Exerciser