Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) is a change in the heart’s sequence of electrical impulses.
Types of irregular heartbeats include:
- Palpitations: heart rate is irregular
- Bradycardia: heart rate is too slow (in adults, less than 60 beats per minute)
- Tachycardia: heart rate is too fast (in adults, more than 100 beats per minute)
- Ventricular fibrillation (VFib): disorganized contraction of the lower chambers of the heart
- Atrial fibrillation (AFib): upper heart chambers contract irregularly
- Conduction disorders: heart does not beat normally
- Premature contraction (PACs and PVCs): early heart beat
Treatment to fix irregular heartbeat includes:
- Medications
- Antiarrhythmics
- Class I (fast sodium channel blockers)
- Class II (beta blockers)
- Class III (potassium channel blockers)
- Class IV (calcium channel blockers)
- Class V (other)
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin
- Antiarrhythmics
- Cardioversion
- Ablation
- Implantable devices
- Pacemakers
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)
What Are Symptoms of Irregular Heartbeat?
Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) may not cause any symptoms or only minor symptoms such feeling as if you skipped a heartbeat or feeling of fluttering in the chest or neck.
When symptoms of irregular heartbeat occur, they may include:
- Fatigue
- Lightheadedness, fainting, or near-fainting spells
- Rapid heartbeat or pounding in the chest
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain or pressure
- Anxiety
- In severe cases, collapse and sudden cardiac arrest
- Cardiac arrest is a serious medical emergency and can be fatal
- If someone you know experiences any symptoms listed below call 911 and get to a hospital’s emergency department immediately
- No normal breathing (not breathing at all or gasping for air)
- Sudden loss of responsiveness
See a doctor right away if you have an irregular heartbeat and:
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Lightheadedness/fainting
- Dizziness
- Swelling in your leg
- Symptoms persist or frequently return
- You have certain underlying medical conditions such as:
- Coronary artery disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Family history of heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
How Is Irregular Heartbeat Diagnosed?
Tests to diagnose the cause and type of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) include:
- Stress test (treadmill test)
- Electrocardiogram (“ECG”)
- Echocardiogram (“echo”)
- Electrophysiology test (EP study)
- Esophageal electrophysiologic procedure
- Tilt table test
- Diagnostic monitors
- Cardiac catheterization (“cardiac cath”)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the heart
- Computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart
- Blood tests: brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP)
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Reviewed on 6/9/2022
References
Image Source: iStock Images
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia
https://www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/Antiarrhythmic_drugs
https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/when-get-irregular-heartbeat-checked
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia
https://www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/Antiarrhythmic_drugs
https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/when-get-irregular-heartbeat-checked