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5th May 2025
Investigations
Investigations should be tailored to the suspected underlying cause. Below is a non-exhaustive table of immediate investigations to help ascertain the type of arrhythmia and possible underlying cause.
| Investigation | Positive findings |
|---|---|
| Urine dip +/- culture | Evidence of infection
Proteinuria/haematuria indicating renal/cardiac failure |
| Blood tests | ABG/VBG – acidosis, hypoxia, electrolyte abnormalities, lactate, hypercapnia
FBC – infection, anaemia U&E – electrolyte derangement, renal failure CRP – infection LFTs – cholestasis, hepatitis, poor nutrition Mg – hypomagnesaemia TFTs – hyper/hypothyroidism Bone profile – hypo/hypercalcaemia, phosphate INR/coag – may determine treatment Troponin – evidence of strain/ischaemia |
| CXR | Evidence of infection/fluid overload |
| ECG | Characterise arrhythmia (see below) |
| Echocardiogram | View structural abnormalities, systolic function and assess for right heart strain (PE) |
Table 3: Investigations in patients presenting with cardiac arrhythmias
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