Effect of pulse palpation on cardiac arrhythmia in coronary care patients.

In a study of 62 coronary care patients, 31 of whom exhibited types of cardiac arrhythmia, the frequency of ectopic beats changed significantly when a nurse palpated the pulse. This finding suggests that autonomic responses to human contact can significantly alter the rate of ectopic impulse generation. These findings further suggest that studies of cardiac arrhythmia should attend to the nature of the social field in which data are collected.