Copyright © 1994 by the European Society of Cardiology.
© 1994 The European Society of Cardiology
Chrome congestive heart failure
Arrhythmias in subjects with and without a history of palpitations: the Tromsø study
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*Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromso Norway
Department of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromso Norway
Received 7 April 1993; revised 19 October 1993; .
Correspondence: Dr Maja-Lisa Lachen, Institute of Community Medicine, Unversny of Tromso, Breivika, N-9037 Tromso, Norway
Abstract
The study looked at palpitations in relation to the prevalence of arrhythmia, as assessed by 24-h ambulatory electrocardiography (ECG) in a population sample. The subjects were randomly drawn from among those involved in a cardiovascular survey. Forty-three of those who answered Yes and 54 of those who answered ‘No’ (84% of those eligible) to the following question, participated. ‘Have you observed sudden changes in your heart rate or heart rhythm during the preceding year?’ In both groups mean age was 49 years and 58% were men.
There was no relationship between recorded arrhythmia and perceived palpitations during monitoring. The prevalence of at least one arrhythmic episode (ventricular or supraventricular arrhythmia or pauses>=1·5 s) was significantly higher in those who had perceived palpitations during the previous year (98%) than in those who had not (74%) (P<0·0014). Through a simple question about palpitations during the preceding year we were able to identify significantly a population with true arrhythmias. However, the question could not be used to define a population entirely without arrhythmia. The high prevalence of arrhythmia in subjects without reported palpitations indicates that it is a normal finding which alone should not demand further clinical investigations.
Key Words: Ambulatory electrocardiography • arrhythmia • epidemiology • palpitations • questionnaire