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Palpitations and arrhythmias. Separating the benign from the dangerous
1Section of Cardiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL 60153.
Postgraduate Medicine
|January 1, 1992
Summary
Most palpitations are benign and do not indicate serious heart disease. For infrequent symptoms, outpatient transtelephonic monitoring is a cost-effective diagnostic tool, unlike Holter monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Palpitations are a common, nonspecific symptom.
- The majority of palpitations are benign, not indicative of serious cardiac conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To outline the goals of evaluating palpitations.
- To differentiate diagnostic approaches based on symptom severity and patient presentation.
Main Methods:
- Review of evaluation goals for palpitations.
- Comparison of outpatient transtelephonic monitoring versus Holter monitoring for infrequent symptoms.
- Assessment of criteria for hospitalization and aggressive cardiac evaluation.
Main Results:
- Outpatient transtelephonic monitoring is clinically useful and cost-effective for infrequent palpitations without major symptoms.
- Patients with significant symptoms like angina, heart failure, or syncope require hospitalization.
Conclusions:
- Evaluation goals include arrhythmia detection, symptom severity assessment, and underlying heart disease extent.
- Diagnostic strategies for palpitations should be tailored to symptom frequency and severity.
- Transtelephonic monitoring offers a cost-effective approach for selected patients, while hospitalization is necessary for severe cases.