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Arrhythmia
URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/arrhythmia.html

Arrhythmia

Also called: Irregular heartbeat
On this page

Basics

  • Summary
  • Start Here
  • Diagnosis and Tests
  • Prevention and Risk Factors
  • Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

  • Related Issues
  • Specifics
  • Genetics

See, Play and Learn

  • Videos and Tutorials
  • Test Your Knowledge

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Journal Articles

Resources

  • Reference Desk
  • Find an Expert

For You

  • Children
  • Patient Handouts

Summary

What is an arrhythmia?

An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat. Your heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or with an irregular pattern. Changes in the electrical signals that control your heartbeat cause arrhythmias.

  • When your heart beats faster than normal, it's called tachycardia.
  • When your heart beats too slowly, it's called bradycardia.
  • When the signal to beat comes too early, it's called a premature or extra heartbeat. It may feel like your heart skipped a beat.

There are many types of arrhythmias. Arrhythmias may affect the upper or lower chamber of your heart. The most common type of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular and fast heartbeat.

Some arrhythmias are harmless, such as when your heart rate speeds up during exercise and slows down when you sleep. But if you have a frequent irregular rhythm, it may mean your heart isn't pumping enough blood into your body. Getting treatment and following a heart-healthy lifestyle can help control arrhythmias. It may also help prevent heart damage that can trigger some heart arrhythmias.

What causes an arrhythmia?

Many factors can affect your heart's rhythm, such as having had a heart attack, smoking, congenital heart defects, and stress. Other factors that could increase your risk for some types of arrhythmias could include if you:

  • Have a family history of arrhythmias.
  • Have certain health conditions, which can include heart and blood vessel diseases, lung diseases, kidney diseases, obesity, and sleep apnea.
  • Are an older adult.
  • Have had recent surgery for your heart, lungs, or throat.
  • Take certain medicines for other health conditions.
  • Use illegal drugs.

If you have risk factors, some situations that make your heart work harder, raise your blood pressure, or cause strong emotional stress may trigger an arrhythmia.

What are the symptoms of an arrhythmia?

You may not have any noticeable symptoms of an arrhythmia. Your provider may find an arrhythmia during your routine checkup. Symptoms of an arrhythmia can include:

  • Fast or slow heartbeat
  • Skipping, fluttering, or pounding heartbeats
  • Chest pain or discomfort
  • Dizziness or fainting
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating
  • Tiredness or weakness

Seek emergency medical care if you have chest pain, shortness of breath, or think you are having a heart attack.

How is an arrhythmia diagnosed?

To find out if you have an arrhythmia, your health care provider may order an electrocardiogram (EKG). This test records your heart's electrical activity and is the most common for finding an arrhythmia. Your provider may also:

  • Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms and lifestyle habits.
  • Do a physical exam, which includes checking your heartbeat and pulse.
  • Order blood tests and other heart tests.
  • Check your legs or feet for swelling.
  • Look for signs of other health conditions that could cause an arrythmia, such as thyroid disease.

What are the treatments for an arrhythmia?

Treatment may include medicines, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, or sometimes surgery. Your provider may also recommend avoiding activities that may trigger your arrhythmia.

The goal of treatment is to restore a normal heart rhythm. If not treated, arrhythmias can damage your heart, brain, and other organs and could be life-threatening.

Can arrhythmias be prevented?

To help prevent an arrhythmia, your provider may suggest that you make heart-healthy lifestyle changes and treat health conditions that may cause arrhythmias.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

  • Arrhythmia (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
  • Categories of Arrhythmias (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
  • What Is an Arrhythmia? (American Heart Association)
  • What Is an Arrhythmia? From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

  • Common Tests for Arrhythmia (American Heart Association)
  • Electrophysiology Studies (American Heart Association)
  • Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
  • Heart Tests From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Skipped Beats (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Slow Heartbeat (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Syncope From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
  • Tilt Table Test (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

  • Early Warning Signs (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Understand Your Risk for Arrhythmia (American Heart Association)

Treatments and Therapies

  • Antiarrhythmics (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Heart Treatments From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Medications for Arrhythmia (American Heart Association)
  • Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators: MedlinePlus Health Topic From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
  • Prevention and Treatment of Arrhythmia (American Heart Association)
  • What Are Defibrillators? From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

  • AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and PAD (Public Access Defibrillation) Programs (American Heart Association) - PDF
  • All about Heart Rate (American Heart Association)
  • Automated External Defibrillators: Do You Need an AED? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Substances (That May Affect the Heart's Electrical System) (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Sudden Death in Young People: Heart Problems Often Blamed (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

  • Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
  • Atrial Flutter (AFL) Video (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Bradycardia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Brugada Syndrome (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Bundle Branch Block (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
  • Cardiac Arrest: MedlinePlus Health Topic From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
  • Conduction Disorders From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Heart Rhythm Disorders (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • Long QT Syndrome From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Other Heart Rhythm Disorders (American Heart Association)
  • Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) From the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
  • Premature Contractions -- PACs and PVCs (American Heart Association)
  • Recognizing POTS: Learn to Spot This Mysterious Condition From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
  • Sick Sinus Syndrome (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Tachycardia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • Tachycardia: Fast Heart Rate (American Heart Association)
  • Ventricular Fibrillation (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
  • What Is Cardiac Arrest? From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Genetics

  • Andersen-Tawil syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Ankyrin-B syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Brugada syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Progressive familial heart block: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Romano-Ward syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Short QT syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Sick sinus syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Timothy syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics From the National Institutes of Health (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

  • Arrhythmias Video (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Cardiac conduction system Video (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Heartbeat Video (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Test Your Knowledge

  • Heart Palpitations Quiz (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Arrhythmias, Cardiac From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Bradycardia From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)
  • ClinicalTrials.gov: Tachycardia From the National Institutes of Health (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

  • Article: Arrhythmia classification based on multi-input convolutional neural network with attention mechanism.
  • Article: Decades of Shifting Trends: Arrhythmia-Related Mortalities in the United States (1968-2021)...
  • Article: Exploring the Mechanism of Action of Berberine on Arrhythmia After Myocardial...
  • Arrhythmia -- see more articles

Reference Desk

  • Heart Anatomy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
  • Heart Information Center (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
  • How the Heart Works From the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

  • American Heart Association
  • Find a Specialist (Heart Rhythm Society)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute From the National Institutes of Health
  • UpBeat.org (Heart Rhythm Society)

Children

  • Arrhythmia (Abnormal Heartbeat) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
  • Heart Palpitations (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
  • Treating Arrhythmias in Children (American Heart Association)

Patient Handouts

  • Arrhythmias (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Cardiac ablation procedures (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Ectopic heartbeat (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Exercise stress test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Heart palpitations (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Holter monitor (24h) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Ventricular tachycardia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Topic Image

Arrhythmia

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

  • Arrhythmias
  • Arrhythmias
  • Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter
  • Cardiac ablation procedures
  • Cardiac conduction system
  • Cardiac event monitors
  • Cardioversion
  • Digitalis toxicity
  • Ectopic heartbeat
  • Heart block
  • Heart palpitations
  • Heartbeat
  • Intracardiac electrophysiology study (EPS)
  • Multifocal atrial tachycardia
  • Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)
  • Pulse
  • Sick sinus syndrome
  • Ventricular fibrillation
  • Ventricular tachycardia
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW)

Related Health Topics

  • Atrial Fibrillation
  • Heart Health Tests
  • Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Arrhythmia is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Other Languages

Find health information in languages other than English on Arrhythmia

Disclaimers

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites. See our disclaimer about external links and our quality guidelines.

The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice. Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health.

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