An arrhythmia is a change in the normal sequence of the heartbeat. The irregular pace may be too fast, too slow or erratic compared to a normal adult heart, which beats 60 to 100 times per minute. Tachycardia is the term to classify a fast heart rate.
Adults with this condition have a heart rate over 100 beats per minute. Bradycardia classifies adults with a slower than average heart rate. Individuals with bradycardia have heart rates less than 60 beats per minute.
In any case, an inefficient heart can cause the lungs and other vital organs to function improperly. Some heart arrhythmias do not greatly affect the overall heart rate. Contrastingly, longer lasting abnormal beats cause the heart to beat less efficiently. Heart rates of this nature may cause organ failure or damage.
An irregular heartbeat can arise in a few ways. If the heart’s natural pacemaker develops an irregular rhythm, the organ itself will have an abnormal beat. Interruptions in the normal conduction pathway can likewise cause arrhythmias. Additionally, someone may develop an irregular heart rate if another part of the heart takes over as the pacemaker.
If you have an abnormal heartbeat, it is important to receive proper medical care to prevent the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest or stroke.
1. Fluttering Feeling in Chest
Fluttering or a tremor-like feeling in the chest is associated with atrial flutter heart arrhythmias. Atrial flutter arises from an abnormal conduction circuit in the right atrium. As a result, the atrium beats around 250 to 300 beats per minute. The heart cannot pump blood well when it beats too fast, which means the organs do not receive enough blood.
Flutters that come and go are considered paroxysmal atrial flutters. Each episode of paroxysmal atrial flutters generally lasts hours or days. Atrial fluttering that is more or less consistent is known as persistent atrial flutters. Fortunately, atrial flutter is rarely detrimental with proper treatment.
Atrial flutters may derive from ischemia, which is decreased blood flow to the heart. High blood pressure possibly contributes to abnormal conduction, too. Other plausible sources include abnormalities in the mitral valve or an abnormally enlarged chamber.
People who believe they have atrial flutter should set an appointment with their doctor immediately. They will most likely run an ECG to get a visual and determine if you indeed suffer from the condition. Those already in treatment should seek medical help in cases of severe chest pain or fainting. You should also reach out to your healthcare provider if you feel light-headed.
2. Racing Heartbeat
Supraventricular and ventricular heart arrhythmias cause a fast heart rate. Atrial fibrillation is the most common type. The condition is characterized by the atria beating too fast combined with irregular contractions. Treatments often include medications, surgery or nonsurgical procedures.
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome causes premature ventricular contraction. This occurs due to an extra electrical pathway that disrupts the timing of the heartbeat. Another condition, known as ventricular fibrillation, causes the ventricles to quiver instead of pump.
Sufferers of ventricular fibrillation are subject to cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest occurs when the body receives insufficient amounts of blood. Always seek emergency medical attention for a racing heartbeat, as it can signal one of these life-threatening conditions.
3. A Slow Heartbeat
Slow heartbeats indicate bradycardia. Sinus node dysfunction bradycardia is an unusually slow pacemaker. Sinus nodes in the upper chamber atria trigger an impulse for the lower chambers to contract. If the sinus node wears out or fires too slowly, the rate becomes slower.
Second and third-degree heart blocks are other afflictions that decrease the beating rates. Second-degree blocks occur when the lower chamber ventricles only receive some of the impulses from the atria. The afflicted may or may not experience symptoms. Third-degree blocks occur when none of the impulses from the atria reach the ventricles, which may cause the heart to beat very slowly.
4. Chest Pain
Chest pain is often associated with ventricular fibrillation. This condition causes a rapid, erratic, quivering heartbeat. While there are a series of rapid contractions, they are essentially futile because they never reach the ventricles.
Electrical signals instead take an abnormal route. The diminished supply of blood to the vital organs causes tightness and pain in the chest. Emergency treatment of ventricular fibrillation often involves electric shock and use of a defibrillator machine.
Defibrillators help reset the pace back to a normal rhythm. Heart attacks are another arrhythmia that can cause chest pain. The dysfunction occurs when a clot in the coronary artery blocks the flow of oxygen and blood.
5. Shortness of Pain
Shortness of breath may accompany heart arrhythmias because of the decreased blood output to the body. Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome is particularly characterized by wheezing or shortness of breath.
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome arises from irregularities in the organ’s electrical system at birth. Afflicted individuals have heartbeats around 240 beats per minute, which contributes to shortness of breath and potentially chest pain.
An additional indicator includes shortness of breath after only mild exertion. Some individuals may even have difficulty breathing while lying down, which may be linked to heart arrhythmias or other diseases of the ticker.
6. Lightheaded or Dizziness
Heart arrhythmias cause decreased blood pressure and lack of oxygen supply in the brain. This scarce supply of oxygen causes the afflicted to feel light-headed or dizzy. They may even lose their balance or pass out completely. Sufferers of both tachycardia and bradycardia are subject to lightheadedness.
Other potential causes of lightheadedness include hyperventilating, panic attacks and medicine consumption. Many medications that are used to treat heart conditions lower blood pressure excessively and cause lightheadedness. Medicine-induced lightheadedness usually happens soon after standing, a phenomenon known as orthostatic hypotension. Lightheadedness from heart arrhythmias, contrastingly, can occur even while sitting or reclining.
7. Sweating
Primary hyperhidrosis is a condition of excessive sweating. Studies show that primary hyperhidrosis may be linked to heart arrhythmias. During an interventional radiology study, researchers had a patient diagnosed with tachycardia and primary hyperhidrosis. They found that treatments not only resolved primary hyperhidrosis, but it fixed the heartbeat irregularity, too. This indicates that excessive sweating is a corresponding symptom for heart arrhythmias.
Hyperhidrosis happens due to increased activity by the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system. A few of the medications that are used to treat hyperhidrosis are likewise used to treat high blood pressure and some heartbeat abnormalities.
8. Fainting
Fainting, or syncope, may coincide with palpitations, dizziness and even cardiac arrest in extreme cases. Syncope can be one of the initial signs that someone has an arrhythmia. It is important to note that arrhythmias only cause syncope during instances of extremely fast or slow heartbeat.
Individuals tend to wake up soon after fainting. The driving factor to regain consciousness is an adequate supply of blood to the brain. This usually happens because the arrhythmia stopped and blood pressure returned to normal.
However, consciousness can be regained even while the arrhythmia persists. Fainting from a standing position may cause head, arm or leg injuries.
