5th May 2025

Non-Cardiac Causes

There is an extensive list of non-cardiac causes of bradyarrhythmia, some of which are listed in Table 1. It is crucial to identify any reversible causes in the clinical history and examination as this will help determine need for further investigations and guide the most appropriate intervention. Always take the same systematic ‘A to E’ approach when assessing any patient with a suspected non-cardiac bradyarrhythmia. Consider immediate tests which you can do at the bedside (lying-standing blood pressure to assess for postural hypotension, venous blood gas to check electrolytes before replacing, urine dipstick for infection and checking the medication chart for culprit drugs) before moving onto non-bedside investigations (e.g. chest radiograph, formal blood tests).