TREMORS MIMICKING ATRIAL FLUTTER IN AN ELDERLY LADY

Abstract

A 77 -year-old lady with history of hypertension and Parkinson`s disease was admitted with cough and fever and diagnosed as pneumonia. On second day of admission, she started having chest pain, initial ECG was interpreted as atrial flutter. When her ECG was reviewed by a cardiologist, ECG features were found to be consistent with artifacts due to tremors. A repeat 12 leads ECG clearly demonstrated normal sinus rhythm and the patient remained completely asymptomatic throughout the hospital stay. Tremor induced artifacts can be mistaken for arrhythmias. Correct diagnosis is important, in order to avoid inappropriate treatment and unnecessary interventions.