[Role of Holter ECG monitoring in the diagnosis of paroxysmal tachyarrhythmias in heart surgery patients].

Eighty-five patients with a variety of paroxysmal cardiac arrhythmias were studied. Total informative value of Holter ECG monitoring was 84.7%. Additional data on previously undetected rhythm and conductivity disorders were obtained in some cases. The duration of tachyarrhythmias varied widely, fasting 7 to 10 minutes in most cases, and about half the cases were undetected by standard ECG. The comparison of patients' subjective assessments and complaints with ECG monitoring data showed that some patients were either unaware of serious arrhythmias or could only sense individual paroxysms. In all cases, Holter monitoring data were correlated with the results of invasive electrophysiologic studies. Paroxysms could not be induced in 4 patients, while Holter monitoring diagnosed tachyarrhythmias in those cases.