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[To what extent do indications for or questioning of the 24-hour ECG in ambulatory practice correlate with
Insights
The 24-hour Holter ECG effectively detects cardiac rhythm abnormalities, with over half of patients experiencing symptoms like syncope or dizziness showing positive results. This diagnostic tool is crucial for identifying various arrhythmias.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Cardiac rhythm abnormalities are a significant concern in patient care.
- Holter electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring is a standard diagnostic tool.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic yield of 24-hour Holter ECG in detecting cardiac arrhythmias.
- To correlate Holter ECG findings with clinical indications such as palpitations, syncope, dizziness, and suspected life-threatening arrhythmias.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of 1312 patients undergoing 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring.
- Classification of detected cardiac rhythm abnormalities into 14 distinct groups.
- Analysis of clinical indications for Holter ECG testing.
Main Results:
- A total of 3190 cardiac rhythm abnormalities were detected, averaging 2.43 types per patient.
- Positive Holter ECG results were observed in 57% of patients with syncope or dizziness.
- Abnormalities were detected in 54.7% of patients with suspected life-threatening arrhythmias.
Conclusions:
- 24-hour Holter ECG is highly effective in diagnosing cardiac rhythm abnormalities.
- The test's positivity rate strongly correlates with the severity of clinical symptoms, validating its use in symptomatic patients.
Abstract:
In 1312 patients the Holter 24-h ECG method served to detect 3190 abnormalities of the cardiac rhythm (mean 2.43 different types of arrhythmia per patient), and were classified into 14 arrhythmia groups. The main groups of indications for Holter ECG were classified as follows: palpitation; syncopes, dizziness; life-threatening arrhythmias. The positivity of the test correlated extremely well with the severity of the clinical symptoms: if syncope or dizziness were the indications for Holter ECG, abnormalities were found in 57%; if life-threatening arrhythmias were suspected, abnormalities were found in 54.7% of the patients.