Arrhythmia

What is an arrhythmia?

An arrhythmia is also known as a heart rhythm problem, causing the heart to either beat too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia) or to have an irregular pattern. This results when the electrical pulses that coordinate the heartbeats do not work properly.

What are the symptoms of arrhythmia?

People with an arrhythmia may not experience any symptoms, but a prominent arrhythmia may result in the following symptoms:

• Palpitations
• Dizziness and vertigo
• Fainting (syncope) 
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Sweating

What causes an arrhythmia?

In some cases, arrhythmias may arise in patients who do not have any other abnormalities. In other cases, arrhythmias may be secondary to other abnormalities.

Potential secondary causes include:

• Heart attack or damage to the myocardium from a heart attack in the past
• Heart failure or enlargement of the heart
• Congenital heart disease
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Hyperthyroidism
• Abnormal levels of potassium or other substances in the body
• Smoking
• Too much caffeine or alcohol
• Stress
• Diabetes
• Genetic causes
• Recreational drug use

What is the treatment for arrhythmia?

Mild arrhythmias often won’t require treatment, but when an arrhythmia is serious treatment will be required.

Treatment can consist of:

• Medication – to control the heart beat better
• Catheter ablation – minimally-invasive procedure that destroys diseased tissue in the heart causing the arrhythmia
• Cardioversion – electric shocks are used to return the heart beat to a normal rhythm

In specific circumstances, a pacemaker or ICD (a device that monitors heart rhythm, and uses small shocks to maintain a normal rhythm), may be required.