heart arrhythmia
Sign in to saveAI overview
I don't have any context provided to create an overview of heart arrhythmia. To write an accurate overview based only on provided information, I would need you to supply the context material you'd like me to base it on.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Medical condition.name
- Arrhythmia
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Cardiac arrhythmia, heart arrhythmia, dysrhythmia, irregular heartbeat
- Medical condition.image
- Ventricular fibrillation.png
- Medical condition.caption
- Ventricular fibrillation (VF) showing disorganized electrical activity producing a spiked tracing on an electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Medical condition.image_size
- 300
- Medical condition.field
- Cardiology
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Palpitations, dizziness or lightheadedness, passing out, shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased level of consciousness
- Medical condition.complications
- Stroke, heart failure, cardiac arrest
- Medical condition.onset
- Older age
- Medical condition.types
- Extra beats, supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias, bradyarrhythmias
- Medical condition.causes
- Problems with the electrical conduction system of the heart
Article
27 sectionsContents
- Classification
- Atrial arrhythmia
- Junctional arrhythmia
- Heart blocks
- Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome
- Fetal arrhythmia
- Signs and symptoms
- Mechanism
- Diagnostic
- Differential diagnosis
- Normal electrical activity
- Bradycardias
- Tachycardias
- Heart defects
- Automaticity
- Fibrillation
- Triggered beats
- Management
- Physical maneuvers
- Antiarrhythmic drugs
- Other drugs
- Electricity
- Electrical cautery
- Research
- See also
- References
- External links
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults – is called tachycardia, and a resting heart rate that is too slow – below 60 beats per minute – is called bradycardia. Some types of arrhythmias have no symptoms. Symptoms, when present, may include palpitations or feeling a pause between heartbeats. In more serious cases, there may be lightheadedness, passing out, shortness of breath, chest pain, or decreased level of consciousness. While most cases of arrhythmia are not serious, some predispose a person to complications such as stroke or heart failure. Others may result in sudden death.
Arrhythmias are often categorized into four groups: extra beats, supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias. Extra beats include premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions and premature junctional contractions. Supraventricular tachycardias include atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. Bradyarrhythmias are due to sinus node dysfunction or atrioventricular conduction disturbances. Arrhythmias are due to problems with the electrical conduction system of the heart. A number of tests can help with diagnosis, including an electrocardiogram (ECG) and Holter monitor.