Cardiac arrhythmia (patient information)

	Cardiac arrhythmia
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Cardiac arrhythmia?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Cardiac arrhythmia On the Web
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
Images of Cardiac arrhythmia
Videos on Cardiac arrhythmia
FDA on Cardiac arrhythmia
CDC on Cardiac arrhythmia
Cardiac arrhythmia in the news
Blogs on Cardiac arrhythmia
Directions to Hospitals Treating Cardiac arrhythmia
Risk calculators and risk factors for Cardiac arrhythmia

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Charmaine Patel, M.D. [2]

Overview

An arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart rate, pulse, or heart rhythm, such as beating too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly.

What are the symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia?

When you have an arrhythmia, your heartbeat may be:

Too slow (bradycardia

Too quick (tachycardia

Irregular, uneven or skipping beats

An arrhythmia may be present all of the time or it may come and go. You may or may not feel symptoms when the arrhythmia is present. Or, you may only notice symptoms when you are more active. Symptoms can be very mild, or they may be severe or even life-threatening.

Common symptoms that may occur when the arrhythmia is present include:

Chest pain

Fainting

Light-headedness, dizziness

Paleness

Shortness of breath

Sweating

What causes cardiac arrhythmia?

Normally, your heart works as a pump that brings blood to the lungs and the rest of the body.To help this happen, your heart has an electrical system that makes sure it contracts (squeezes) in an orderly way.

The electrical impulse that signals your heart to contract begins in the sinoatrial node (also called the sinus node or SA node). This is your heart's natural pacemaker.