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Electrocardiography

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Brackenridge’s Medical Selection of Life Risks

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Abstract

Electrocardiography has proven diagnostic,1 prognostic,2 and protective value in clinical medicine and in mortality risk assessment. Clinical recommendations for screening electrocardiograms (ECGs)3 are few, however, and pertain mostly to individuals such as pilots, whose health could seriously impact the safety of others. Many insurance companies, on the other hand, include routine resting electrocardiograms and, at higher at-risk amounts, exercise electrocardiograms as part of underwriting risk assessment. In this chapter, the strengths and limitations of the electrocardiogram as a cardiac risk selection tool will be examined. This chapter will focus first on basic ECG techniques and pitfalls, then consider the role of the ECG in the evaluation of known or suspected cardiovascular impairments, such as coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertensive and valvular heart disease. Pertinent aspects of the conduction blocks and cardiac arrhythmias will be reviewed, and finally, a look at what may be on the horizon for ECG mortality risk assessment.

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Authors
  1. Michael Clark
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Re Life & Health, London, UK

    R. D. C. Brackenridge MD FRCP (Consulting Medical Officer) & Richard S. Croxson MB FRACP (Cardiologist, Chief Medical Officer) (Consulting Medical Officer) &  (Cardiologist, Chief Medical Officer)

  2. Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Ross MacKenzie MD, FRCP (C) FACC (Cardiologist) (Cardiologist)

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© 2006 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Clark, M. (2006). Electrocardiography. In: Brackenridge, R.D.C., Croxson, R.S., MacKenzie, R. (eds) Brackenridge’s Medical Selection of Life Risks. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-72324-9_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-72324-9_22

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-72326-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-72324-9

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History Collection

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