Cardiac monitoring for patients with palpitations

Table 1 Principal cardiac and noncardiac causes of palpitations

	Cardiac and noncardiac causes
Cardiac arrhythmias	Premature contractions (supraventricular or ventricular)
	Supraventricular tachycardia (AF, flutter, AVRNT, etc.)
	Ventricular tachycardia
	Severe bradyarrhythmia/AV block
	Pacemaker mediated tachycardia
Structural heart disease	Severe aortic regurgitation
	Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
	Congenital heart disease with significant shunt
	Mechanical prosthetic valves
Systemic causes	Thyroid dysfunction
	Pheochromocytoma
	Anaemia
	Fever
	Hypoglycaemia
	Arteriovenous fistula
	Autonomic dysfunction
Psychosomatic disorders	Anxiety
	Somatisation disorder
Drugs	Sympathomimetic agents (bronchodilators, antidepressants)
	Vasodilators (hydralazine, doxazosin)
	Recreational: Cocaine, alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis

AVRNT: Atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia; AF: Atrial fibrillation; AV: Atrioventricular.