BACKGROUND: Dramatic artifacts of pseudo flutter have been reported in the past secondary to various factors including tremor (Handwerker and Raptopoulos in N Engl J Med 356:503, 2007) and dialysis machines (Kostis et al. in J Electrocardiol 40(4):316-318, 2007). METHODS: We present this unusual case where the artifact, produced by tremor, was so pronounced to be misdiagnosed and treated as ventricular tachycardia. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the importance of correlating ECG findings with history and clinical examination and of using 12 lead ECGs for rhythm interpretation especially to confirm consistence of arrhythmias in all leads.
BACKGROUND: Dramatic artifacts of pseudo flutter have been reported in the past secondary to various factors including tremor (Handwerker and Raptopoulos in N Engl J Med 356:503, 2007) and dialysis machines (Kostis et al. in J Electrocardiol 40(4):316-318, 2007). METHODS: We present this unusual case where the artifact, produced by tremor, was so pronounced to be misdiagnosed and treated as ventricular tachycardia. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the importance of correlating ECG findings with history and clinical examination and of using 12 lead ECGs for rhythm interpretation especially to confirm consistence of arrhythmias in all leads.