RT Book, Section
A1 Narayan, Sanjiv M.
A1 Krummen, David E.
A2 Fuster, Valentin
A2 Harrington, Robert A.
A2 Narula, Jagat
A2 Eapen, Zubin J.
SR Print(0)
ID 1192038468
T1 APPROACH TO THE PATIENT WITH CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS
T2 Hurst's The Heart, 14e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071843249
LK accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1192038468
RD 2024/04/24
AB Cardiac  arrhythmias  are  common  in  clinical  practice,1  yet  their  diagnosis  and  evaluation  can  be  challenging  because  of  diverse  presentations2  and  their  clinical  impact  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  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.