Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 26, 2021; 9(30): 9205-9210
Published online Oct 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i30.9205
Transient ventricular arrhythmia as a rare cause of dizziness during exercise: A case report
Li-Li Gao, Cheng-Han Wu
Li-Li Gao, Cheng-Han Wu, Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Traditional Chinese Medical University, Fuzhou 350003, Fujian Province, China
Author contributions: Gao LL carried out the studies, participated in collecting data, and drafted the manuscript; Both authors performed the statistical analysis, participated in its design, helped to draft the manuscript, read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Fujian Provincial Health Commission, No. 2019-ZQN-78; the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81503431; and the Natural Science Foundation of the Fujian Province, No. 2020J01247.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Li Gao, MM, Doctor, Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Traditional Chinese Medical University, No. 282 Wusi Road, Gulou District, Fuzhou 350003, Fujian Province, China. gaolilidexingfu@163.com
Received: May 12, 2021
Peer-review started: May 12, 2021
First decision: June 15, 2021
Revised: June 24, 2021
Accepted: August 30, 2021
Article in press: August 30, 2021
Published online: October 26, 2021
Processing time: 161 Days and 23.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Dizziness is a common symptom in adults and usually due to peripheral causes affecting semicircular canal function or central causes affecting the pons, medulla, or cerebellum. Arrhythmia is a recognized cause of dizziness in people with structural or ischemic heart disease. We report a case of exercise-induced transient ventricular tachycardia and dizziness in a man with no evidence of organic heart disease.

CASE SUMMARY

A 42-year-old man presented with a 6 mo history of transient exercise-induced dizziness and prodromal palpitations. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic. Physical examination, otoscopy, vestibular tests, cerebellar tests, laboratory investigations, and imaging investigations were all unremarkable. Twenty-four hour Holter monitoring revealed four episodes of transient ventricular tachycardia during exercise. The patient was started on metoprolol and subsequently underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation. The patient reported a full recovery and no dizziness during daily activities. These results were maintained at the 6 mo follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Ventricular tachycardia is an uncommon but potentially serious cause of dizziness. The outcome of this case illustrates the benefits of careful clinical examination and communication with specialized centers. High clinical suspicion of arrhythmia in a patient with dizziness merits consultation with a cardiologist and referral to a specialized center to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Dizziness; Cardiac arrhythmia; Ventricular tachycardia; Catheter ablation; Organic heart disease; Case report

Core Tip: Ventricular tachycardiais an uncommon but potentially serious cause of dizziness. High clinical suspicion of arrhythmia in a patient with dizziness merits consultation with a cardiologist and referral to a specialized center to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.