Heart Arrhythmia: It can be a normal infrequent condition or a serious life-threatening crisis

Arrhythmia Defined

Heart or cardiac arrhythmia is any abnormal beating of the heart. This can be irregular beating, such as skipping a beat, or palpitations, or it can refer to heart beats that are less than 60 or over 100 per minute. Most arrhythmia is not a serious concern, but some types are dangerous and life-threatening, requiring medical treatment.

Causes of Heart Arrhythmia

Any number of things can cause arrhythmias, including lack of sleep, stress and panic attacks, too much caffeine, cold medications, excessive use of marijuana, some stomach infections, some prescription medications, and an overactive thyroid. A history of heart disease certainly is a major, on-going cause and produced prolonged or more serious heart arrhythmias.

Tachycardia and Bradycardia Arrhythmias

These two terms are used to describe heart beats that are too slow (bradycardia) or too fast (tachycardia). Usually, these conditions are the result of overexertion, other illnesses, etc. and usually do not continue for prolonged periods of time. Generally, neither of these two types of arrhythmia is considered serious unless they persist for a lengthy time.

Ventricular Arrhythmia

The ventricles are the lower chambers of the heart. Arrhythmias occurring in this area can be completely non-serious, such as an occasional skipped heart beat, which occurs in everyone at one time or another. Heart palpitations can also be a ventricular arrhythmia, but, again, are not serious unless they occur for long periods of time. Someone may feel a pounding in his chest in times of fear or anxiety, or after prolonged exercise, but if the pounding gradually goes away, all is fine.

The serious ventricular arrhythmia is called ventricular fibrillation, and this is defined as a quivering motion of the heart muscle, as opposed to a normal regular beating. If this occurs, no blood is being pumped into the heart, and the victim could die if emergency measures are not taken immediately, such as CPR or defibrillation, which is the application of electric shock to the heart, causing it to revert to regular rhythm again.

Atrial Arrhythmia

The atria refer to the upper chambers of the heart. When atrial fibrillation occurs, it is a quivering motion in the upper chambers. While this type of fibrillation can be a symptom of a serious medical condition, it is not immediately life-threatening. Seeking the advice of a physician is certainly warranted.

Other forms of atrial arrhythmia can be caused by stomach disorders, such as ulcers. Antibodies for these microbes can actually travel to the heart and attack cells there, resulting in rapid heartbeat, or supraventricular arrhythmia.

Symptoms of Arrhythmia

Most people with occasional heart arrhythmia will notice one or more of the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath

Palpitations (heart beating faster)

Fluttering in the chest

Chest pains

Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting

Fatigue or general feeling of lethargy

If these symptoms occur infrequently, they should generally be ignored. If they are occurring regularly and frequently, however, it is essential that the individual see a medical professional.

Diagnosis of Heart Arrhythmia

Whether ventricular arrhythmia or atrial arrhythmia is experienced, a physician will need and EKG. If this is done in the office, it may not show the arrhythmia. In this instance, the patient may need to wear and ambulatory ECG monitoring device for 24-48 hours, so that the heart activity can be monitored and recorded for a sustained period of time. These devices are common today and give the doctor solid information as he prepares the appropriate treatment regimen.

Treatment of Heart Arrhythmia

There is a wide range of antiarrhythmic drugs available for use in treatment of arrhythmia which is caused by other underlying conditions. The goal of these medications is to get the heart to a regular rhythm while the underlying causes are treated. Most of these drugs can have side effects, so a patient is usually hospitalized until the individual response can be determined. Depending upon the type of arrhythmia, “blockers” are used to either shorten or lengthen the time between beats, as well as to slow or speed up the heart rate.

Pacemakers are commonly used when the arrhythmia is not life-threatening or the result of serious heart disease. These are easily implanted and cause the heart to beat normally.

A number of natural supplements are available for mild arrhythmia which is not the result of a serious medical condition. These include, but are not limited to, fish oils, flax seed oil, magnesium, resveratrol, and potassium. Other herbal supplements can actually stimulate cardiac arrhythmia and should be avoided if you have symptoms of arrhythmia. These include ephedra, ginkgo biloba, guarana, horny got week, and ginseng.