Cardiovascular Disease - Arrythmias

Cardiac arrhythmia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cardiac arrhythmia (also dysrhythmia) is a term for any of a large and heterogeneous group of conditions in which there is abnormal electrical activity in the heart. The heart beat may be too fast or too slow, and may be regular or irregular.

Some arrhythmias are life-threatening medical emergencies that can result in cardiac arrest and sudden death. Others cause aggravating symptoms such as an abnormal awareness of heart beat (palpitations), and may be merely annoying. Others may not be associated with any symptoms at all, but pre-dispose toward potentially life threatening stroke or embolus. Some arrhythmias are very minor and can be regarded as normal variants. In fact, most people will sometimes feel their heart skip a beat, or give an occasional extra strong beat - neither of which is usually a cause for alarm.

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Arrhythmia

Life Extention Foundation

A healthy heartbeat is stimulated by electrical pulses that arise from within the heart itself, spread throughout the heart in a coordinated pattern, and cause cardiac muscle contractions that send blood pulsing through the body’s network of arteries and veins. Ideally, this system works without problems. When there is a problem with this electrical system, however, an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, may develop. There are several kinds of arrhythmias, depending on the nature of the abnormal heart rhythm:

• Tachyarrhythmias: rhythms that are abnormally rapid, with or without other abnormalities
• Bradyarrhythmias: rhythms that are abnormally slow, with or without other abnormalities
• Fibrillations: uncoordinated, very rapid and weak rhythms

Sometimes arrhythmias are also identified by where in the heart they arise. For example, atrial fibrillation describes a chaotic, quivering rhythm that occurs in the upper chambers of the heart, or the atria.

Certain kinds of abnormal heartbeats are common. They occur even among healthy people occasionally, sometimes stimulated by emotion or fear or even by drinking coffee, and pose no threat. If, however, you have abnormal heartbeats that become frequent or are associated with other symptoms, such as dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, or chest pain, you should visit a physician for evaluation. Arrhythmias can be caused by a number of underlying conditions or diseases. Very serious arrhythmias are life-threatening medical emergencies.

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