Detection of atrial tachyarrhythmias in an implantable monitoring device

State‐of‐the‐art, implantable, dual‐chamber cardiac devices provide useful diagnostic information, including the number and duration of automatic‐mode switch episodes in cases of atrial tachycardia and atrial fibrillation encountered in clinical practice. However, to acquire accurate diagnostic information, special attention must be paid to the device settings; to the presence or absence of ventriculoatrial conduction, which, when present, often represents repetitive non‐reentrant synchrony (RNRVAS) or pacemaker‐mediated tachycardia; to the post‐ventricular atrial‐blanking period and atrial sensitivity; and to the sensing of far‐field R waves (FFRW) in the atrial channel. Physicians should be careful about the information gathered during the monitoring of patients with implantable devices.