An arrhythmia is simply irregular heartbeat, whether the heart is beating too fast (tachycardia), too slowly (bradycardia), premature contraction, or irregularly (fibrillation/flutter). An arrhythmia occurs when the electrical signals which are responsible for coordinating the heartbeat stop functioning properly. Some individuals may feel their heart begin to race without any reason.
For the most part, an arrhythmia is relatively harmless, however, if particular abnormalities are present or the heart is weak or damaged, an arrhythmia could be fatal. An arrhythmia may also be part of an underlying heart condition; therefore, it is very important to have your heart checked regularly by Dr. Kohani.
Arrhythmias may cause:
- Tachycardia: heart beating too fast
- Bradycardia: heart beating too slow
- Atrial fibrillation: upper chambers of the heart beat in an irregular pattern; out-of-sync.
