Dr. Smith, on his ECG Blog, has posted a must-see video presentation by famous ECG guru, Dr. K. Wang, discussing how helpful PVCs can be. Dr. Smith's blog is one of the best out there for ECG fans, and Dr. Wang is a wonderful teacher. The ECG Guru highly recommends both.
Ever since I first had a vague idea of what an ECG is, and looks like, I have noticed that graphics artists ALMOST NEVER get it right when using ECGs in advertising. Especially bothersome to me is when the graphic representation of an ECG is on the side of an ambulance, rescue vehicle, or hospital! Up until now, it has bothered me to no end, but today I found Drew Rinella's hillarious blog, "Stupid Heart Rhythms".
This ventriculogram shows the typical apical ballooning of the left ventricle during Tako-tsubo myocardiopathy. This serious condition can be caused by extreme stress, such as in the death of a loved one, or prolonged high stress levels. The ECG will usually show ST elevations indicating an anterior wall M.I., but the angiogram will show no arterial occlusions. Tako-tsubo myopathy causes a sudden onset of congestive heart failure. It is transient, and those who survive it generally recover fully. For an excellent and complete discussion of Broken-Heart Syndrome
The ECG Guru now has a You Tube site where you can find videos to enhance your classes. As with all ECG Guru content, there is no charge and no copyright. Ventriculograms are often obtained during a cardiac cath procedure. A curved, or pigtail, catheter is inserted through the arterial access line into the aorta and then the left ventricle. Contrast is introduced into the left ventricle and the pumping function of the ventricle can be observed. The structure and function of the aorta and mitral valve may also be observed during this procedure.
At this link, you will find a ventriculogram showing a normally-functioning left ventricle with an excellent ejection fraction. For your students, ventriculograms can illustrate muscle function visually, and are a great aid when teaching ECG. Watch the ECG Guru website and YouTube page for more ventriculograms and other cath lab videos.
Are you concerned that ACLS is becoming "cook book", and some people are just getting their cards, without really understanding the reasons behind the ACLS recommended therapies? The ACLS 2013 Practice Code Scenarios book will remedy that.
Occasionally on the ECG Guru webpage, we like to do a review of books or other materials that we think would be of service to ECG instructors. Dr. Ken Grauer's ACLS 2013 Pocket Brain is one of those books. Followers of the ECG Guru webpage and FaceBook page have gotten to know Dr. Grauer as an exceptional resource for information on recognition AND treatment of arrhythmias. He serves as a valued Expert on our Ask the Expert page.
Today, the ECG Guru is one year old. We are so happy that the Guru and the concept of helping ECG Instructors has been successful. Through this website, we have met so many ECG Gurus all around the world, and have made some wonderful like-minded friends. The website has had 23,995 visitors, many of them returning frequently for total visits well over 30,000. There have been 86,543 page views from 146 countries. The Guru has been viewed in 96 languages.
Do you teach basic or beginners' ECG classes? Sometimes searching online for good sample ECGs can be frustrating because the ECG Gurus out there usually post the interesting or unusual ECGs for others to see and voice their opinions on. We do that on the ECG Guru site, with Jason Roediger's fascinating ECG Challenge every week. But, what if you just need "the basics" to show your students, or to make practice packets?
The ECG Guru's primary mission has always been to provide free teaching materials for ECG and cardiac topic instructors. We have recently updated the site, thanks to our awesome web designer, Steven Spencer, of Graphic Web Design. I am working hard to update all the ECGs in our archives so they will show up in the navigation pane on the left. In the meantime, if you can't find something you are looking for, use the "Search" tab at the top of the page.
