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by Jan Adamec (Author), Lukas Kappenberger (Foreword by), Philippe Coumel (Foreword by)
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.
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Twenty-four hour ECG recordings continue to be the backbone of electrocardiographic diagnosis. The devices are worn by patients on an outpatient basis for days or weeks and can also be implanted subcutaneously. ECG Holter recordings not only detect rhythmic and subjective events but can also be programmed individually for activation and specific tracing analysis. The purpose of this volume is to provide an overview of the techniques, interpretation, advantages and disadvantages of ECG Holter monitoring.
Dr. Richard Adamec graduated as Medical Doctor (MD) at the Charles University in Prague in 1957. Between 1975 and 1979, he was the senior registrar at the Cardiology Centre University Hospital of Geneva. Between 1979 and 1998, he served as Staff Cardiologist at the University Policlinic and at the Cardiology Centre of the University Hospital of Geneva. From 1988 he was a privat-docent. Between 1975 and 1998, Dr. Adamec was responsible for the interpretation of all Holter ECG recordings performed at the Cardiology Centre and Medical Policlinic of the University of Geneva.
Dr. Jan Adamec received his Swiss Medical Federal diploma in 1988 and his Doctorate in Medicine in 1994 (MD) at the Geneva University. Since 1996, he has served as an FMH Specialist in Cardiology and Internal Medicine. Since 1997 Dr. Adamec has been a Consultant Cardiologist at the Cardiology Centre (University Hospital Geneva) and Deputy Head Physician at the Clinique La Prairie, Montreux, Vaud, Switzerland.
