Fast Facts: Cardiac Arrhythmias

Recent progress in interventional therapies has revolutionized the management of cardiac arrhythmias, resulting in a remarkable improvement in outcomes for patients. Yet the diagnosis and management of arrhythmias are still viewed as a complex and inaccessible area of modern cardiology. Fast Facts: Cardiac Arrhythmias cuts through the technical detail to provide a better understanding of how the patient with arrhythmia presents, and how the problem should be best investigated and managed. Highlights include: - Succinct descriptions with clear well-annotated illustrations of normal conduction and the mechanisms of arrhythmias - A simple classification of arrhythmias based on 12-lead ECG patterns - A comprehensive review of presenting signs and symptoms, with key questions to ask the patient - A logical approach to investigation: predict it (history and examination), wait for it (monitoring) or provoke it (electrophysiology) - Practical information on management options: pharmacological therapy, direct cardioversion, catheter ablation and cardiac devices (pacemakers and defibrillators) - The latest international guidelines on atrial fibrillation and catheter and surgical ablation - Important pharmacological updates, including the latest thinking on anticoagulation. This highly readable handbook is a practical resource for all primary care physicians, cardiologists in training, cardiac nurses, technicians and medical students seeking a better understanding of the mechanisms of arrhythmias and the contemporary therapies available, with a view to improving patient care.