The child with palpitations

Key words: Palpitation, Arrhythmia, Evaluation

Palpitations mean the perception of the heartbeat that is usually a cause for concern for patients. In adults, palpitations occasionally herald serious underlying cardiac events. However, palpitations in children typically arise from physiologic stimuli, such as fever, exercise, anxiety, or anaemia rather than life-threatening causes (for example, cardiac arrhythmia). In addition, children with serious arrhytmia may report no palpitations. The paper proposes an approach to children with palpitations.