Panic disorder (PD) is characterised by sudden attacks of intense fear with somatic symptoms including palpitations and tachycardia. Reciprocally, palpitations caused by paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) are commonly associated with anxiety and may therefore be misdiagnosed as PD. As demonstrated by two case reports, PSVT and PD can occur comorbidly in a chronological sequence, wit...

Dr Salehian: Palpitations as a chief complaint are a common issue routinely assessed by family physicians, general internists, emergency department physicians, and cardiologists. The differential diagnosis in such patients is broad and often not related to a primary cardiac issue or arrhythmia. Broadly, symptoms of palpitations may be related to cardiac arrhythmia or structural heart disease, m...

Mental health problems are underdiagnosed in general practice, primarily because they are often somatized and the patient reports only physical symptoms. These somatized symptoms are responsible for a large percentage of the frequent attenders in general practice. Palpitations are among those somatized symptoms. Here we present the theoretical background and the process of assessment and treatm...

Dr Salehian: Palpitations as a chief complaint are a common issue routinely assessed by family physicians, general internists, emergency department physicians, and cardiologists. The differential diagnosis in such patients is broad and often not related to a primary cardiac issue or arrhythmia. Broadly, symptoms of palpitations may be related to cardiac arrhythmia or structural heart disease, m...

We report the case of 52-year-old female with recurrent episodes of palpitations and dizziness. Holter monitoring revealed transient ST elevations followed by episodes of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with episodes of palpitations and dizziness. Coronary angiography revealed mildly irregular right coronary artery with 90% stenosis. The patient underwent percutaneous coronary in...

Two brothers with Fabry's disease presenting with palpitations were found to have intermittent supraventricular tachycardias. Their electrocardiograms, when symptom-free, revealed short PR intervals consistent with ventricular pre-excitation. Treatment of one of the brothers with verapamil resulted in improvement of the palpitations and reduction in frequency of the tachycardia. Recurrent supra...

Swallowing-induced bradyarrhythmias due to vagal mechanisms have beenwell documented and are relatively commonplace. However, swallowing-induced tachyarrhythmia is an extremely rare syndrome of unclear etiology. We report a case of atrial fibrillation and SVT induced by swallowing solid foods and burping. Flecainide was prescribed with subsequent resolution of any inducible symptoms. A 50-year-...

Dr Salehian: Palpitations as a chief complaint are a common issue routinely assessed by family physicians, general internists, emergency department physicians, and cardiologists. The differential diagnosis in such patients is broad and often not related to a primary cardiac issue or arrhythmia. Broadly, symptoms of palpitations may be related to cardiac arrhythmia or structural heart disease, m...

A 32 year-old Caucasian male, an elite athlete, was admitted to the emergency department because of a sudden onset of palpitations which had lasted more than 12 hours and were associated with chest discomfort. He had a two-year history of recurrent stress-induced palpitations. He denied either episodes of syncope or any family history of sudden death. Physical examination was normal. He had no ...