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An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. If you have an arrhythmia, your heart may beat faster or slower than others without arrhythmia. There are several different conditions might cause your heart to beat abnormally, and treatment depends on the cause. Talk to your healthcare provider if you feel like your heart is racing, if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, or you have chest pain.
An arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia) is an irregular or abnormal heartbeat. What are the types of arrhythmias?
What are the types of supraventricular arrhythmias?Supraventricular arrhythmias begin in the atria or the upper chambers of your heart. Types of supraventricular arrhythmias include:
What are the types of ventricular arrhythmias?A ventricular arrhythmia begins in the heart’s ventricles. Types of ventricular arrhythmias include:
What are the types of bradyarrhythmias?A bradyarrhythmia is a slow heart rhythm that is usually caused by disease in the heart’s conduction system. Types of bradyarrhythmias include:
An arrhythmia may be “silent” and not cause any symptoms. A doctor can find an irregular heartbeat during an examination by taking your pulse, listening to your heart or performing diagnostic tests. If symptoms occur, they may include:
What causes arrhythmias? Arrhythmias can be caused by:
If you have symptoms of an arrhythmia, you should make an appointment with a cardiologist. You may want to see an electrophysiologist — a cardiologist who has additional specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders. After assessing your symptoms and performing a physical examination, the cardiologist may perform a variety of diagnostic tests to help confirm the presence of an arrhythmia and indicate its causes. Some tests that may be done to confirm the presence of an irregular heart rhythm include:
Treatment depends on the type and severity of your arrhythmia. In some cases, no treatment is necessary. Treatment options include medications, lifestyle changes, invasive therapies, electrical devices or surgery. What medications treat arrhythmias?A variety of drugs are available to treat arrhythmias. Because everyone is different, it may take trials of several medications and doses to find the one that works best for you. Several types of drugs are used:
It’s important to know:
What invasive therapies are used to treat arrhythmias?Electrical cardioversion and catheter ablation are invasive therapies used to treat or eliminate irregular heart rhythms. Your doctor will determine the best treatment for you and discuss the benefits and risks of these therapies with you. Electrical cardioversion In people with persistent past or irregular arrhythmias (such as atrial fibrillation), a normal rhythm may not be achieved with drug therapy alone. Cardioversion is performed by the doctor in a special procedure room. After administration of a short-acting anesthesia, an electrical impulse is delivered through your chest wall that synchronizes the heart and allows the normal rhythm to restart. Catheter ablation During a catheter ablation, high-frequency electrical energy is delivered through a catheter to a small area of tissue inside of the heart that causes the abnormal heart rhythm. This energy "disconnects" the pathway of the abnormal rhythm. Ablation can be used to treat most SVTs, atrial flutter, and some atrial and ventricular tachycardias. It can also be used to disconnect the electrical pathway between the atria and the ventricles, which may be useful in people with atrial fibrillation. Ablation may be combined with other procedures to achieve optimal treatment. Pulmonary vein isolation In people with frequent, paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation, isolation of the pulmonary veins (pulmonary vein isolation) is a type of ablation that targets areas thought to cause atrial fibrillation. The goal is to create rings of scar that isolate the foci responsible for triggering atrial fibrillation. What devices are used to treat arrhythmias?A cardiologist may insert certain devices during a procedure in the electrophysiology lab. A permanent pacemaker is a device that sends small electrical impulses to the heart muscle to maintain a normal heart rate. The pacemaker has a pulse generator (which houses a battery and a tiny computer) and leads (wires) that send impulses from the pulse generator to the heart muscle, as well as sense the heart's electrical activity. Pacemakers are mostly used to prevent your heart from beating too slowly. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a sophisticated device used primarily to treat ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, two life-threatening heart rhythms. The ICD constantly monitors the heart rhythm. When it detects a very fast, abnormal heart rhythm, it delivers energy to the heart muscle to cause the heart to beat in a normal rhythm again. There are several ways the ICD can be used to restore normal heart rhythm. These include:
Biventricular (B-V) pacemakers and defibrillators(also called cardiac resynchronization therapy or CRT) are used in people with heart failure who also have evidence of an uncoordinated or out-of-sync contraction of the left ventricle. These devices help to synchronize the contraction of the left ventricle. In addition to the one or two leads used by traditional pacemakers and defibrillators that are placed in the right ventricle and right atrium, bi-ventricular devices utilize an additional lead placed on the back or left side of the left ventricle. To reach this area, the additional lead is typically guided through the coronary sinus, a small vein on the back of the heart. People with arrhythmias may require heart surgery for any of these reasons:
Here are some ways to change these arrhythmia risk factors that are related to arrhythmias.
You’ll need to visit your doctor for regular follow-up visits to:
Your provider will tell you how often you should visit. Call your doctor in between visits if your symptoms become more frequent or severe. You should also make sure that your family and friends know how to recognize your symptoms. They should also learn how to start CPR if that ever becomes necessary. What should I know about self-care with an arrhythmia?If you have an arrhythmia, or even if you don’t, you might find it useful to know how to take your pulse. Your pulse indicates your heart rate or the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Pulse rates vary from person to person. Your pulse is slower when you are at rest and increases when you exercise since more oxygen-rich blood is needed by the body during exercise. How do I take my pulse?You can tell how fast your heart is beating by feeling your pulse. You can feel your pulse on your wrist or neck. Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on the inner wrist of your other arm, just below the base of your thumb. Or, place the tips of your index and middle fingers on your lower neck, on either side of your windpipe. Press lightly with your fingers until you feel the blood pulsing beneath your fingers. You may need to move your fingers around slightly up or down until you feel the pulsing. You can count the number of beats in 10 seconds and multiply by six to determine your heart rate in beats per minute. A normal heart rate, at rest, is 50 to 100 beats per minute. A note from Cleveland Clinic There are many ways for your heartbeat to be irregular. Some of these irregular heartbeats, called arrhythmias, don’t cause symptoms. It’s important that you see your healthcare provider if you do notice symptoms like extreme fatigue or heart palpitations. Your provider will help you decide on the best treatment option for you, but you can help yourself by making appropriate lifestyle changes.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/22/2022. References
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy |