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Arrhythmia

 What is Arrhythmia?

An arrhythmia is a cardiac problem which relates to heartbeat and the rate at which it occurs. There is a normal rhythm to the heartbeat. Arrhythmia occurs if the heart beats too fast or too slow. When the heart beats too fast, it is known as tachycardia and when it beats too slowly, it is known as bradycardia.

Arrhythmias are usually harmless and may occur occasionally, but can be life threatening in isolated cases. Arrhythmias can turn serious because of their duration. This is because at the time, the heart may be unable to pump sufficient blood to be utilized by the body. This can eventually cause a stroke. Lack of flow of blood could also damage other vital organs such as the kidneys, lungs and the liver. There are several types of arrhythmias.

These include premature atrial contractions, premature ventricular contractions, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, accessory pathway tachycardias, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, long QT syndrome, sinus node dysfunction, bradyarrhythmias, and heart block.