TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - APPROACH TO THE PATIENT WITH CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS A1 - Narayan, Sanjiv M. A1 - Krummen, David E. A2 - Fuster, Valentin A2 - Harrington, Robert A. A2 - Narula, Jagat A2 - Eapen, Zubin J. PY - 2017 T2 - Hurst's The Heart, 14e AB - Cardiac arrhythmias are common in clinical practice,1 yet their diagnosis and evaluation can be challenging because of diverse presentations2 and clinical impact, which can range from minor to potentially life-threatening. The evaluation must be comprehensive, but should focus initially on a detailed history of episodes and relevant comorbidities, and on electrocardiogram (ECG) documentation of index episodes. Cardiac arrhythmias may present with cardiovascular symptoms such as palpitations or dizziness, but may also present with symptoms from secondarily affected organs such as cryptogenic stroke or peripheral thromboembolism. Important arrhythmias may also be asymptomatic,3 so that the clinician must maintain a high index of suspicion for these conditions, particularly in individuals with structural heart disease or a family history of unexplained syncope. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general approach to evaluate patients with arrhythmias, and those who require arrhythmia screening. Other chapters of this textbook will detail the management of specific arrhythmias. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/18 UR - accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1161718127 ER -