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Diseases » Palpitations » Misdiagnosis
 

Misdiagnosis of Palpitations

Contents
  1. Palpitations: Introduction
  2. Alternative Diagnoses List
  3. Possible Misdiagnoses
  4. Common Misdiagnoses
  5. Misdiagnosis Center
  6. Palpitations: Introduction
  7. Symptoms: Palpitations
  8. Treatments
  9. Tests

Alternative diagnoses list for Palpitations:

For a diagnosis of Palpitations, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Palpitations:

Diseases for which Palpitations may be an alternative diagnosis

The other diseases for which Palpitations is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:

Palpitations: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?

Causes of Palpitations may include these medical conditions:

Palpitations Diagnosis: Book Excerpts

Palpitations: Medical Mistakes

Related medical mistakes may include:

Palpitations: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:

Common Misdiagnoses and Palpitations

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or from delaying too long to call for emergency help. The prognosis for treatment is far better for patients treated in the early stages of a heart attack. The most common misdiagnoses include heartburn, or other less severe causes of chest pain. See the introduction to heart attack and the symptoms of heart attack.

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder. Some of the conditions which may be causes of chest pain, causing fear of a heart attack, including an anxiety attack, heartburn, and so on. See the causes of chest pain and the symptoms of heart attack.

Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, this undiagnosed condition can be fatal. It should be considered for any unexplained heart rhythm abnormality.

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack, whereas there are various less dangerous possibilities. After all, there are numerous causes of chest pain. Some of the common conditions where a person may become concerned about a possible heart attack include a panic attack (which often has both chest pain and difficulty breathing), and heartburn/reflux type conditions. Nevertheless, chest pain itself can be a potentially life-threatening symptoms, and needs immediate professional attention.

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately test a child's blood pressure. This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension. The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome". See misdiagnosis of hypertension.

Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its misdiagnosis is even more likely in children. Some of the symptoms of hypertension that can be overlooked include chest pain, headaches, abdominal pain, etc. See symptoms of hypertension or misdiagnosis of hypertension.

Pheochromocytoma can mimic an anxiety attack: Pheochromocytoma is a tumour of the adrenal glands which secretes excessive amounts of catecholamines such as epinephrine and nor-epinephrine. It usually occurs in young patients and is not an easily diagnosed as it is usually mistaken for an anxiety attack, essential hypertension or a case of hyperthyroidism. The patient usually presents with symptoms of sympathetic overactivity which leads to symptoms such as palpitation, anxiety, increased heart rate, headache and most importantly orthostatic hypotension etc. It is also associated with genetic syndromes such as multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes. Early diagnosis is needed so that the tumour can be excised surgically.

Commmon case of iron deficeincy anaemia: Iron deficiency anaemia is a common cause of anaemia worldwide. It is the largest cause of microcytic hypochromic anaemia with its main differential diagnosis being thalassaemia and anaemia of chronic disease. It is differentiated from the other two conditions based on blood tests. It is very important to differentiate between iron deficiency anaemia and thalassaemia as the treatment in both the conditions are exactly opposite. In iron deficiency anaemia iron has to be supplemented but in case of thalassaemia the iron stores are normal and iron supplementation is contraindicated. Iron deficiency anaemia must be spotted early on in children as in the long run it affects their cognitive and psychomotor performance and late diagnosis in thalassaemia can cause lethargy, failure to thrive and jaundice.

Rapid heart rate in Wolf Parkinson White syndrome: Wolf Parkinson White syndrome can present with anything form mild chest discomfort or palpitations to severe cardiopulmonary compromise or cardiac arrest. Occasionally, electrocardiographic evidence of a disease is discovered on routine ECG. The patient may have a rapid heart rate of 250 beats per minute often associated with hypotension. Many patients are not aware of the underlying condition. The physician may misdiagnose the condition as a case of atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation.

Pitfalls in diagnosing palpitations: The symptom of palpitations is suggestive of cardiac arrhythmia but may have a non- cardiac cause. Palpitations not related to emotion, fever and exercise suggest an arrhythmia. There are many pitfalls in the diagnosis and mangaemnet of arrhythmias especially in the elderly where symptoms of infection can be masked. Palpitations associated with menopause maybe overlooked. Valvular lesions usually associated with rheumatic heart disease such as mitral stenosis and aortic incompetence may cause palpitations. The rare tumour, pheochromocytoma, presents with palpitations and postural tachycardia. The toxin from tick bites in dermatomes T!- 5 can also cause palpitations.

Palpitations: Rare Types

Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

About misdiagnosis:

When checking for a misdiagnosis of Palpitations or confirming a diagnosis of Palpitations, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Palpitations may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Palpitations. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.


 » Next page: Undiagnosed Palpitations

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