[Absolute arrhythmia without an initially recognizable cause--prognosis and course].

: On the basis of a 10-year course examination of 21 patients with absolute arrhythmia (a. p.) should be tested whether it is justified to assume a purely functional cause of disturbances of rhythm in initially normal internal basis findings. In the period of the examinations no patient had died. Five patients showed an organic heart disease without any stronger functional effects (mitral insufficiency, coronary heart disease, hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). In two of them complications had appeared (brain embolisms, myocardial infarction). The remaining patients were without any complaints and capable to work, apart from the intermittent or persisting disturbance of rhythm which continued to appear in all cases, and had again normal basis findings. However, in six of them echocardiographical deviations were found. In initially normal basis findings and a.p. at first a good prognosis is to be assumed. Regular control examinations are, however, necessary, that the manifestation of organic basic disease which appears among our patients in 1/4 of the cases is not overseen.