arrhythmia

(noun)

An irregular heartbeat.

Related Terms

Examples of arrhythmia in the following topics:

  • Arrhythmia

    • Cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) are a heterogeneous group of conditions involving abnormal electrical activity in the heart.
    • Some arrhythmias are life-threatening medical emergencies that can result in cardiac arrest.
    • Arrhythmias - types: Arrhythmia may be classified by rate (normal, tachycardia, bradycardia), or mechanism (automaticity, reentry, fibrillation).
    • Arrhythmias arising at the junction: Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), Junctional rhythm, and Junctional tachycardia.
    • In atrial fibrillation, one form of cardiac arrhythmia, the P waves, which represent depolarization of the atria, are absent.

  • Aging and the Cardiovascular System

    • Arrhythmias are also more common with increasing age as the cells of the conduction pathway become less efficient.
    • Other arrhythmias may be merely uncomfortable, causing minor symptoms like palpitations.

  • Heart Failure

    • An electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) may be used to identify arrhythmias, ischemic heart disease, right and left ventricular hypertrophy, and presence of conduction delay or abnormalities (e.g. left bundle branch block).
    • Reversible causes of the heart failure also need to be addressed: (e.g. infection, alcohol ingestion, anemia, thyrotoxicosis, arrhythmia, hypertension).

  • Signs and Symptoms of Shock

    • Additional symptoms may include arrhythmia of the heart beat and visibly distended jugular veins.

  • Aging and the Heart

    • Arrhythmias are also more common with age, as the cells of the conduction pathway become less efficient.

  • Marfan Syndrome

    • The goal of treatment is to slow the progression of aortic dilation and damage to heart valves by eliminating arrhythmias, minimizing the heart rate, and minimizing blood pressure.
    • Beta blockers have been used to control arrhythmias and slow the heart rate.

  • Proprioceptor Regulation of Breathing

    • When this process is cyclical it is called a sinus arrhythmia, which is a generally normal physiological phenomenon in which there is short-term tachycardia during inspiration.

  • Electrocardiogram and Correlation of ECG Waves with Systole

    • A missing P wave indicates atrial fibrillation, a cardiac arrhythmia in which the heart beats irregularly, preventing efficient ventricular diastole.
    • When ECG output shows no identifiable P waves, QRS complexes, or T waves, it imdicates ventricular fibrillation, a severe arrhythmia.

  • Fibrous Skeleton of the Heart

    • The fibrous skeleton of the heart also protects against cardiac arrhythmias.

  • Effects of Exercise on the Heart

    • For example, some athletes may be at risk for cardiac hypertrophy from too much exercise over long periods of time and sudden cardiac death from exercising to the point that the heart's metabolic demands become too high, causing an arrhythmia.