What is an Arrhythmia
An arrhythmia is a change in the regular beat of the heart. The heart may seem to skip a beat or beat irregularly or very fast or very slowly.
The good news is that having an arrhythmia does not mean that a person has heart disease. Many arrhythmias occur in people who do not have underlying heart disease. And whilst heart disease may cause arrhythmias, there is no recognizable cause of arrhythmia.
Other causes include: stress, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, diet pills, and cough and cold medicines.
The vast majority of people with arrhythmias have nothing to fear. They do not need extensive exams or special treatments for their condition. In some people, arrhythmias are associated with heart disease. In these cases, heart disease, not the arrhythmia, poses the greatest risk to the patient.
In a very small number of people with serious symptoms, arrhythmias themselves are dangerous. These arrhythmias require medical treatment to keep the heartbeat regular.
For example, a few people have a very slow heartbeat (bradycardia), causing them to feel lightheaded or faint. If left untreated, the heart may stop beating and these people could die.
How common are arrhythmias?
Arrhythmias occur commonly in middle-age adults. As people get older, they are more likely to experience an arrhythmia.
There are many types of arrhythmias. Arrhythmias are identified by where they occur in the heart (atria or ventricles) and by what happens to the heart’s rhythm when they occur.
Arrhythmias arising in the atria are called atrial or supraventricular (above the ventricles) arrhythmias. Ventricular arrhythmias begin in the ventricles. In general, ventricular arrhythmias caused by heart disease are the most serious.
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