Palpitation: Extended Electrocardiogram Monitoring: Which Tests to Use and When

Kara J Quan

doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2019.05.005

Palpitation: Extended Electrocardiogram Monitoring: Which Tests to Use and When

Med Clin North Am. 2019 Sep;103(5):785-791. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2019.05.005.

Author

Kara J Quan¹

Affiliation

¹ Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. Electronic address: kquan@nohc.com.

PMID: 31378325
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2019.05.005

Abstract

Palpitation is common. It is often accompanied by dizziness, lightheadedness, near syncope, and even syncope. It may be difficult to confirm a diagnosis in patients with infrequent symptoms. Several tools are available to document arrhythmias in the workup of a patient with palpitation, including 24-hour Holter monitoring, 30-day external continuous monitoring, and implantable loop recorders. A number of private companies are now able to empower patients to monitor heart rates and even give accurate rhythm strips. This article reviews the current data on how to make the diagnosis and which tools to use in the primary care setting.

Keywords: Event; Extended monitoring; Holter; Implantable loop recorder; Palpitation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Arrhythmias, Cardiac / diagnosis*
Electrocardiography / instrumentation*
Electrocardiography / methods
Electrocardiography, Ambulatory
Humans
Symptom Assessment
Time Factors