What are Other Heart Rhythm Disorders?

An arrhythmia is a disorder that affects the heart rate. The heart tends to beat too slow (bradycardia), too fast (tachycardia), or irregularly. Arrhythmias can affect the amount of blood pumped by the heart.

The beating of the heart is controlled by electrical impulses that normally travel on a smooth path through the heart, causing the ventricles and atria of the heart to contract in a specific order, pushing blood through the lungs and body. These electrical impulses are controlled by the heart's sinoatrial (SA) node, or sinus node, the heart's natural pacemaker.

Although many arrhythmias will never cause health problems, they can cause troublesome symptoms, such as dizziness or chest discomfort. Other, more dangerous arrhythmias can impact blood supply and require medical management. Left untreated, they can eventually lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or sudden death.

Ventricular fibrillation is the most dangerous type of arrhythmia. With this condition, the heart's ventricles lose the ability to contract, stopping blood flow to the body and brain. Ventricular fibrillation rapidly leads to loss of consciousness and death, and requires electrical shock (defibrillation) to restart the heartbeat.

Symptoms and Detection

The signs and symptoms can vary greatly from person to person. Symptoms can include:

• Shortness of breath
• Lack of energy
• Weakness
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Feeling nervous, restless or agitated

Treatment

Treatment plans are developed collaboratively by a team of multidisciplinary specialists to ensure the ideal course of action. Our team consists of:

• Electrophysiologists
• Cardiologists
• Cardiac Surgeons
• Nurse Navigator, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants

Our physicians and staff are committed to pursuing every possible solution for rhythm disorders, including:

• Medication Management
• Electrical Cardioversion
• Electrophysiology Interventions
• Ablation Therapy
• Cardiac Devices –Pacemakers, ICD