Approach to the patient with palpitations

Palpitations are a common complaint present in up to 16% of outpatients. They are nonspecific and in only 15% of patients do they correlate with a cardiac arrhythmia. The significance of palpitations is related to the presence or absence of underlying cardiac disease, the clinical setting in which palpitations occur, and the characteristics and severity of symptoms. This article presents a concise approach to the evaluation of the ambulatory patient with palpitations.