Cardiology Explained


Book Description

One of the most time-consuming tasks in clinical medicine is seeking the opinions of specialist colleagues. There is a pressure not only to make referrals appropriate but also to summarize the case in the language of the specialist. This book explains basic physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in a straightforward manner, gives guidelines as to when referral is appropriate, and, uniquely, explains what the specialist is likely to do. It is ideal for any hospital doctor, generalist, or even senior medical student who may need a cardiology opinion, or for that ma.




ECG Based Analysis of the Ventricular Repolarisation in the Human Heart


Book Description

ECG recordings provide diagnostic relevant information on the de- and repolarisation sequences of the heart. A modification of the repolarisation sequence is assumed to cause Torsades de Pointes. Especially drug induced effects on the repolarisation processes are in focus, since some non-cardiac drugs have been associated with sudden cardiac death in the 1990s.The analysis of the ventricular repolarisation using a set of parameters depicting the morphology of the T-wave is introduced in this work. Therefore, new methods of fully automatic patient-specific QRS detection, beat classification and precise T-wave delineation are presented. Using these methods, medical studies are investigated regarding the modification of the T-wave by different compounds. Also the impact of the heart rate on the morphology of the T-wave is part of this research.The reliable identification of ventricular ectopic beats allows an analysis of the influence of these beats on subsequent heart beats. It turned out that the morphology of subsequent heart beats can significantly be changed. This might give new information on the proarrythmical risk of ventricular ectopic beats.







Cardiac Repolarization


Book Description

A comprehensive review of all the latest developments in cardiac electrophysiology, focusing on both the clinical and experimental aspects of ventricular repolarization, including newly discovered clinical repolarization syndromes, electrocardiographic phenomena, and their correlation with the most recent advances in basic science. The authors illuminate the basic electrophysiologic, molecular, and pharmacologic mechanisms underlying ventricular repolarization, relate them to specific disease conditions, and examine the future of antiarrhythmic drug development based on both molecular and electrophysiological properties. They also fully review the clinical presentation and management of specific cardiac repolarization conditions.




Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering


Book Description

A systematic overview of the quickly developing field of bioengineering—with state-of-the-art modeling software! Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering provides a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of bioengineering. It provides the theoretical background necessary to simulating pathological conditions in the bones, muscles, cardiovascular tissue, and cancers, as well as lung and vertigo disease. The methodological approaches used for simulations include the finite element, dissipative particle dynamics, and lattice Boltzman. The text includes access to a state-of-the-art software package for simulating the theoretical problems. In this way, the book enhances the reader's learning capabilities in the field of biomedical engineering. The aim of this book is to provide concrete examples of applied modeling in biomedical engineering. Examples in a wide range of areas equip the reader with a foundation of knowledge regarding which problems can be modeled with which numerical methods. With more practical examples and more online software support than any competing text, this book organizes the field of computational bioengineering into an accessible and thorough introduction. Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering: Includes a state-of-the-art software package enabling readers to engage in hands-on modeling of the examples in the book Provides a background on continuum and discrete modeling, along with equations and derivations for three key numerical methods Considers examples in the modeling of bones, skeletal muscles, cartilage, tissue engineering, blood flow, plaque, and more Explores stent deployment modeling as well as stent design and optimization techniques Generates different examples of fracture fixation with respect to the advantages in medical practice applications Computational Modeling and Simulation Examples in Bioengineering is an excellent textbook for students of bioengineering, as well as a support for basic and clinical research. Medical doctors and other clinical professionals will also benefit from this resource and guide to the latest modeling techniques.




Electrocardiographic Imaging


Book Description

Electrical activity in the myocardium coordinates the contraction of the heart, and its knowledge could lead to a better understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiac diseases. This electrical activity generates an electromagnetic field that propagates outside the heart and reaches the human torso surface, where it can be easily measured. Classical electrocardiography aims to interpret the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to determine cardiac activity and support the diagnosis of cardiac pathologies such as arrhythmias, altered activations, and ischemia. More recently, a higher number of leads is used to reconstruct a more detailed quantitative description of the electrical activity in the heart by solving the so-called inverse problem of electrocardiography. This technique is known as ECG imaging. Today, clinical applications of ECG imaging are showing promising results in guiding a variety of electrophysiological interventions such as catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. However, in order to promote the adoption of ECG imaging in the routine clinical practice, further research is required regarding more accurate mathematical methods, further scientific validation under different preclinical scenarios and a more extensive clinical validation




J Wave Syndromes


Book Description

This book delineates the state of the art of the diagnosis and treatment of J wave syndromes, as well as where future research needs to be directed. It covers basic science, translational and clinical aspects of these syndromes. The authors are leading experts in their respective fields, who have contributed prominently to the literature concerning these topics. J wave syndromes are one of the hottest topics in cardiology today. Cardiac arrhythmias associated with Brugada syndrome (BrS) or an early repolarization (ER) pattern in the inferior or infero-lateral ECG leads are thought to be mechanistically linked to accentuation of transient outward current (Ito)-mediated J waves. Although BrS and ER syndrome (ERS) differ with respect to magnitude and lead location of abnormal J waves, they are thought to represent a continuous spectrum of phenotypic expression termed J wave syndromes. ERS is divided into three subtypes with the most severe, Type 3, displaying an ER pattern globally in the inferior, lateral and right precordial leads. BrS has been linked to mutations in 19 different genes, whereas ERS has been associated with mutations in 7 different genes. There is a great deal of confusion as to how to properly diagnose and treat the J wave syndromes as well as confusion about the underlying mechanisms. The demonstration of successful epicardial ablation of BrS has provided new therapeutic options for the management of this syndrome for which treatment alternatives are currently very limited, particularly in the case of electrical storms caused by otherwise uncontrollable recurrent VT/VF. An early repolarization pattern is observed in 2-5% of the US population. While it is clear that the vast majority of individuals exhibiting an ER pattern are not at risk for sudden cardiac death, the challenge moving forward is to identify those individuals who truly are at risk and to design safe and effective treatments.




Comprehensive Electrocardiology


Book Description

New edition of the classic complete reference book for cardiologists and trainee cardiologists on the theory and practice of electrocardiography, one of the key modalities used for evaluating cardiology patients and deciding on appropriate management strategies.







Developments and Applications for ECG Signal Processing


Book Description

Developments and Applications for ECG Signal Processing: Modeling, Segmentation, and Pattern Recognition covers reliable techniques for ECG signal processing and their potential to significantly increase the applicability of ECG use in diagnosis. This book details a wide range of challenges in the processes of acquisition, preprocessing, segmentation, mathematical modelling and pattern recognition in ECG signals, presenting practical and robust solutions based on digital signal processing techniques. Users will find this to be a comprehensive resource that contributes to research on the automatic analysis of ECG signals and extends resources relating to rapid and accurate diagnoses, particularly for long-term signals. Chapters cover classical and modern features surrounding f ECG signals, ECG signal acquisition systems, techniques for noise suppression for ECG signal processing, a delineation of the QRS complex, mathematical modelling of T- and P-waves, and the automatic classification of heartbeats. Gives comprehensive coverage of ECG signal processing Presents development and parametrization techniques for ECG signal acquisition systems Analyzes and compares distortions caused by different digital filtering techniques for noise suppression applied over the ECG signal Describes how to identify if a digitized ECG signal presents irreversible distortion through analysis of its frequency components prior to, and after, filtering Considers how to enhance QRS complexes and differentiate these from artefacts, noise, and other characteristic waves under different scenarios