Clinical evaluation of the patient with ventricular arrhythmia

Evaluation of patients with ventricular arrhythmia (VA) is a frequently encountered problem in clinical practice. Determining which patients require treatment and which are at risk for sudden cardiac death remains challenging, however. Classification of VAs as significant, prognostically important, having unknown importance, or insignificant will help determine whether treatment is warranted and beneficial. Tests for evaluating suspected VA, including ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring, exercise testing, and electrophysiologic studies, are used to determine the presence or frequency of an arrhythmia, correlate the arrhythmia with symptoms, determine a prognosis, or evaluate the efficacy of drug therapy.