Understanding Cardiac Electrophysiology

In the fast paced world of clinical training, students are often inundated with the "what" of electrophysiology without the "why". This new text is designed to tell the story of electrophysiology so that the seemingly disparate myriad observations of clinical practice come into focus as a cohesive and predictable whole.

    Presents a unique, conceptually-guided approach to understanding the movement of electrical current through the heart, the impact of various disease states and the positive effect of treatment
    Reviews electrophysiologic principles and the analytic tools which, when combined with a firm grasp of EP mechanisms, allow the reader to think through any situation
    Presents the mathematics necessary for the practice of cardiac electrophysiology in an accessible and understandable manner
    Contains accompanying video clips, including computer simulations showing the flow of electrical current through the heart, which help explain and visualise concepts discussed in the text
    Includes helpful chapter summaries and full color illustrations aid comprehension

Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

About the companion website xi

Part I: Third‐person omniscient (how we would see EP if we could see EP)

1 Ion channels 3

2 Action potentials 9

3 Propagation 19

4 Arrhythmia mechanisms 25

5 Anatomy for electrophysiologists 37

Part II: Doctor’s‐eye view (dealing with incomplete knowledge)

6 Deducing anatomy 49

7 Electrical activity, electrodes, and electrograms 59

8 Electrogram analysis: understanding electrogram morphology 69

9 Differential diagnostic pacing maneuvers 79

10 Electro‐anatomic mapping 99

Appendix: What we measure when we record an electrogram 109

Afterword: Your heart is a computer: from army ants to atrial fibrillation 115

Suggested reading 117

Index 119