For centuries the analysis of the heart rhythm has belonged to the foundations of medical art. We know that doctors in ancient Tibet used the interpretation of the heart rate to draw prognostic conclusions-somehow a modern rationale-that deserves further attention. The rapid advancement of science is providing more and more information about the details, but the subatomic resolution of structures hides the risk and the complex procedures are fragmented into static impressions. The same has happened to the ECG. The revolutionary development, acknowledged by the Nobel Prize for Einthoven, ledfromtheanalysisofthedynamicheartratetothestaticanalysisofthe heartstream curve. It is only with the ECG Holter recording over longer periods that the cardiologists rediscovered the old dynamic. With the continuous recording of the heart rate and its periodicity, it became accessible to a new dimension, a dim- sion that requires technically well-de?ned foundations for accurate data coll- tion, detailed knowledge of the electrocardiologic particularities of arrhythmia, and medical knowledge for the translation of the results into a diagnostic synthesis. With the ECG Holter the issue is no longer just to detect an arrhythmia, but also to determine dynamic circumstance in which the critical event occurred. In fact, we investigate the trigger, the event, and the context, and we have to integrate all of that information within the clinical picture, from the pathology right through to the symptom-indeed a multi-dimensional task.

As arrhythmias may be transient in nature and not seen during the shorter recording times of the standard ECG, ECG Holter monitoring allows the physician to make better informed decisions for the cardiac patient. The devices are worn by patients on an outpatient basis for days or weeks and can also be implanted subcutaneously. ECG Holter recordings are especially useful since they can be programmed individually for activation and specific tracing analysis. Designed for rapid study, this book contains 100 illustrative cases in ECG Holter monitoring. Each case consists of a tracing followed by a brief explanation of the findings. 100 Cases in ECG Holter is the perfect resource for busy physicians looking to optimize their skills at interpreting ECG Holter readings.