The Only EKG Book You'll Ever Need

I'm a medical student, and this is the best EKG book I've found for learing EKGs relevant for students. Probably all you need for med school exams are heart blocks and MIs, but this book has all the major stuff, bundle branch/fasicular/hemi -blocks, SVTs, etc. The best part about this book is that its NOT just pattern recognition like other EKG books. It tells you why a rhythm is narrow vs wide, what's actually going on in that re-entrant rhythm, why that block looks the way it does by relating it to what's actually going on with the current, which makes you remember it better. Basically, if you just want to memorize some shapes, go use Dubin. But if you want to understand why EKGs make the patterns they do for various pathologies, then you MUST buy this book.

For years, professors, clinical instructors, and residents told me all I ever needed to known to analyze EKGs was Dubin's book. Despite reading it over and over again, I still struggled when it came time to interpret EKGs during rounds. I realized this was because Dubin's book favors rote memorization over understanding. The fill in the blank, repetitive structure actually makes retaining information difficult because it doesn't really teach you anything. Thaler's book, on the other hand, successfully manages to remain informal while teaching the concepts behind EKG analysis. I bought this book on the recommendation of a fellow intern who was having the same difficulties. One read through and I felt that years were wasted struggling with Dubin. Don't waste time or money on Dubin's ridiculous approach. Thaler's book will actually teach you what you need to know.

I would recommend to all to first look at the excerpts and decide which style best suites your style of learning. I viewed the Thaler first, and then Dubin. My learning style is much more suited to Thaler; the fill in the blank style of Dubin was so ridiculous that I thought it was a joke at first. On the other hand some people may find that style more conducive to their learning needs, so there is no need to burn the book in a bonfire. The interesting part is that I had originally set out to buy the Dubin after reading the reviews about the book. The negative Dubin reviews mentioned the Thaler book as a better alternative and many reviews mentioned the different styles of the books as factors. Bravo to reviewers for helping me make a smart choice for me. Thaler it is.

It's well worth the time and expense to read this book in addition to the assigned Dubin. Thaler's text is clearly written, cleanly laid out, and easy to follow (no cutesy fill-in-the-blanks here). The publisher deserves a lot of credit for careful editing and an elegant, logical layout. Thaler presents each topic in a concise paragraph or two, with lots of white space for notes. Criteria are given in straightworward lists, and are far easier to learn this way. Dubin is an authority on EKG interpretation, but his plodding teaching style just didn't work for me. Both authors present reliable information in their EKG texts, but this is a perfect example of two books that use completely different teaching styles. I'm glad I found Thaler's direct, detailed, concise text to learn this essential skill.

A colleague recommended this book to me after I lamented that Dubin's competing text was amusing and easy to understand, but didn't really foster any permanent functional understanding of EKGs. Like Dubin's text, Thaler's EKG Book takes a leisurely approach to deconstructing the EKG. However, Thaler's text is a much more functional guide, offering better explanations in a more comprehensive approach to interpreting EKGs. Thaler's text works not only because it is easy to understand, but also because it provides more clinical scenarios, and has a more complete discussion of a wide variety of abnormal EKGs. This book is far superior to Dubin's. Highly recommended.