yes / The aim of this book is to be able to interpret Electrocardiograms avoiding all possible errors. The accuracy of the interpretation is of great importance but a true diagnosis is far more significant. This book focuses on the recognition and interpretation of arrhythmias, one of the most important clinical tools in medicine. The greatest degree of accuracy is achieved by familiarising with the normal ECG that enables the recognition of abnormal patterns to be made immediately. Firstly, it is necessary to acquaint the function of the heart and the electrical activity in order to broaden our understanding of how the ECG detects this electrical activity. It is essential to know the characteristic patterns of a normal ECG and to categorise a wide array of morphologic patterns along with determining abnormal ECG patterns to be diagnostic of particular pathological entities. A series of practical experiments have been carried out on various subjects using the BIOPAC system to record electrical signals of the heart. Subjects were asked to perform various tasks such as lying down, sitting, deep breathing and exercising to detect electrical signals in different conditions and eventually interpret the data. The ethical issue toward each subject is also too important, so it was necessary to let the subject know about any risk factors during experiment. For this purpose, a Volunteer Information Sheet was designed during this work for each subject to read and be aware of all the ethical issues. Also, another Patient Consent Form was designed to make sure that each volunteer fully understands the procedures. Volunteer Questionnaire is necessary to make sure volunteer that there is no problem, which can affect the experimental results. Finally, ECG results were interpreted using a systematic approach and the precise findings were correlated with the pathophysiology and clinical status of the patient. This book concludes with a thorough investigation into the essential techniques and skills required to accurately interpret an ECG, eliminating as many errors as possible.

Elektrokardiogram (EKG) är ett vanligt förekommande hjälpmedel för diagnostik i ambulanssjukvården. Att kunna tolka EKG korrekt är av vikt för att säkerställa en säker vård för patienten. Tidigare forskning om ambulanssjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att tolka EKG saknas. Syftet med studien är att beskriva ambulanssjuksköterskornas erfarenheter av att tolka EKG i samband med prehospital vård. Studien är av kvalitativ design med ostrukturerade intervjuer och induktiv ansats. Tolv intervjuer med ambulanssjuksköterskor genomfördes. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera resultatet som resulterade i tre generiska kategorier med två till fyra subkategorier vardera. Studien visar att ambulanssjuksköterskorna erfar en personlig utveckling, ett organisatoriskt stöd och beaktar vårdmötet vid tolkning av EKG. Erfarenheten är att två olika dimensioner, den existentiella dimensionen och den strukturella dimensionen, påverkar ambulanssjuksköterskorna vid tolkning av EKG i samband med prehospital vård. Ett korrekt tolkat EKG kan ge patienten bättre förutsättningar för en god vård. Enligt ambulanssjuksköterskorna i studien tycks arbetslivserfarenhet ge mer kunskap inom EKG-tolkning, vilket skiljer sig från tidigare forskning. Kontinuerlig utbildning inom EKG-tolkning kan troligtvis behövas. / Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a common aid for diagnostic work up in ambulance care. To be able to interpret the ECG correctly it is important to ensure a safe care for the patient. Previous research regarding ambulance nurses’ experience of interpretating the ECG is lacking. The aim with the study was to describe ambulance nurses’ experiences of interpretating the ECG in association with prehospital emergency care. The study is of qualitative design with unstructured interviews and an inductive approach. Twelve interviews with ambulance nurses were carried out. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the findings which resulted in three generic categories with two to four subcategories each. The study showed that the ambulance nurses experience a personal development, an organizational support and consider the care meeting when interpretating ECG. The experience is that two different dimensions, the existential dimension and the structural dimension, affect the ambulance nurses when interpretating the ECG in association with prehospital emergency care. A correctly interpretated ECG can give the patient better conditions for a good care. According to the ambulance nurses in the study work experience seem to give more knowledge in ECG-interpretation, which differs from previous research. Continuous education in ECG-interpretation is probably required.

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