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Heart Center Virtual Tour

Multifocal atrial tachycardia - Symptom

Symptoms:

Chest tightness
Light-headedness
Fainting
Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
Shortness of breath
Weight loss and failure to thrivein infants

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Signs and tests:

An examination shows a rapid heart beat of 100 to 180 beats per minute. Blood pressure is normal or low. There may be signs of poor circulation.

Tests to diagnose MAT include:

ECG
Electrophysiologic study (EPS)

Heart monitors are used to record the rapid heart beat. These include:

24-hour Holter monitor
Portable, long-term loop recorders -- allow you to start recording if symptoms occur
If the patient is in the hospital, the heart rhythm is monitored 24 hours a day.

Heart, section through the middle

Heart, front view

Reviewed last on: 5/12/2008
Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Ferri FF. Ferri’s Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2006:540.

Marx J. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002:1080-1081.

Olgin JE, Zipes DP. In: Specific Arrhythmias: Diagnosis and Treatment. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007: chap. 35.

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