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BACKGROUND: The main indication for ablation of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVTA) is symptomatic relief. Specific paroxysmal symptoms cannot be quantified with general measures of quality of life, such as with the SF-36 questionnaire. U22 is a new protocol which measures the effects of arrhythmia on well-being, the intensity of discomfort during an episode, the type and temporal characteristics of dominant symptoms, and the duration and frequency of episodes. Discrete 0-10 scales are used. Unlike SF-36, U22 can be used in individual patients. METHODS: U22 and SF-36 protocols were used in the symptomatic evaluation of 88 patients (mean age = 49.6 +/- 16.4 years; 43 men), who underwent catheter ablation of SVTA. Results: The U22 scores (SD) for (a) well-being (10 being best), (b) effects of arrhythmia on well-being (10 being worst), and (c) discomfort during arrhythmia (10 being worst) were 5.6 (2.7), 7.5 (2.8), and 8.0 (2.4), respectively. For comparison, the physical and mental component summaries of SF-36 were 45.3 (11.0) and 45.2 (12.1), respectively, slightly lower than the expected normal of 50. The intensity of dominant symptom scored by U22 was 9.7 (1.2), 10 being worst. In 29% of patients > or =4 symptoms were equally dominant. Multiple dominant symptoms in U22 were associated with a low general well-being in SF-36. CONCLUSION: We found U22 useful to quantify symptoms associated with SVTA.