Heart Rhythm Abnormalities

Improved Essays
A heart rhythm disorder is an abnormal variation from the normal heartbeat. Heart rhythm disorders involve abnormalities of one or more of the following: heart rate, regularity of beats, sites where electrical impulses originate, or sequence of activation of heartbeats. Heart rhythm disorder is also referred to as an arrhythmia.

The primary function of the heart is to supply blood and nutrients to the body. The regular beating, or contraction, of the heart moves the blood throughout the body. Each heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses traveling through the heart. In the normal heart these electrical impulses occur in regular intervals. When something goes wrong with the heart's electrical system, the heart does not beat regularly.
…show more content…
Often though, it is due to the side effects of medications used to control high blood pressure. Side effects of beta blocker and certain calcium channel blocker drugs include a slowing of the heart rate.

Body environment is also important with slow heart rhythm abnormalities.Hypothermia, or low body temperature, is a potential cause.

3.

The symptoms of heart rythm disorders are Premature atrial contractions (PACs) and premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are variations of normal and most often, people are unaware that an extra beat has occurred. However, some patients are keenly aware of any extra heartbeat, even if it is a normal variant and requires no treatment.

That said, the initial symptom of dysrhythmia is often palpitations, a sensation that the heart is beating too quickly, too slowly, beating irregularly, or skipping a beat. The palpitations may be intermittent or may require medical intervention to resolve.

Because of the heart rhythm abnormality, other symptoms may occur because of decreased cardiac output (the amount of blood that the heart pushes out to meet the body's demand for oxygen and energy). The patient may complain oflightheadedness, weakness, nausea andvomiting, chest pain, and shortness of
…show more content…
The following are some of the types of arrhythmias:

Premature atrial contractions, sometimes called PAC or APC, or premature supraventricular contractions: This happens when another part of the atria sends an electrical impulse soon after the previous beat, causing the heart to contract earlier than expected. This arrhythmia is a very common occurrence in all ages and usually is not serious.

Supraventricular tachycardia, or paroxysmal SVT or PSVT: SVToccurs when any structure above the ventricle (usually the atria or the AV node) produces a regular, rapid electrical impulse resulting in a rapid heartbeat.
Sick sinus syndrome: Irregular electrical impulses generated by the SA node cause a slower-than-normal heart rate (sometimes alternating with rapid heart rates if the electrical impulses switch to a high rate).
Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome: This is an arrhythmia people are born with because they have extra electrical pathways leading from the atrium to the ventricle that can cause tachycardia and particular types of rapid arrhythmias.
Atrial fibrillation: This is a common condition caused by electrical impulses discharged at a rapid rate from many different areas of the atria. It usually causes a fast and irregular

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Ventricles Case Study

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Second, their left side of the heart has a blockage and blood buildup, which is abnormal and will not have a normal electrical signal such as the P-wave and T-wave, throughout the heart. The P-wave and T-wave will have a distinct pattern because the atrial and ventricle will not depolarize and repolarize normally. The EKG for this patient will have a longer QRS complex and T wave because the left atrial and ventricles will not repolarize efficiently. The P-R and Q-T interval will also have a longer range than 0.20 second due to weaken electrical conduction that causes by the heart…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The official name of the irregular disorder is called “Stress Cardiomyopathy”. It is dissimilar from a regular heart attack for the reason that the contractions cannot kill the heart muscle in correspondence to a typical heart attack. 3. In the article, “Study Suggests You Can Die of a Broken Heart”, it…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The purpose of the research was to develop knowledge on the causes and complications of a prolonged QTc interval. The importance of looking at the research was developed because of a life threatening complication of a prolonged QT interval, torsades de pointes. Torsades de pointes is an arrhythmia that is characterized by the two lower heart chambers beating fast (Long QT syndrome, 2017). When this arrhythmia occurs, less blood is pumped out from your heart. If this arrhythmia is sustained, it can lead to ventricular fibrillation which causes the ventricles to beat so fast that the heart quivers and blood flow in ceased (Long QT syndrome, 2017).…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For the most part, athletes EKG's are normal or have slight electrical changes. The most commonly reported alterations are early depolarization patterns, increased QRS voltages, diffuse T-wave inversion, and deep Q waves. Sinus bradycardia, which is an abnormally slow heart rate below 60 bpm, is considered normal in athletes at rest and is mostly without symptoms. The heart has become so efficient, it delivers large volumes of blood with each beat, so fewer beats are needed. Another type of arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, can actually be a problem in athletes.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    AF is more frequent in men than women. It occurs when the upper chambers (atria) of the heart beat rapidly and chaotically, which can cause the pulse rate to jump to over 100 beats per minute and interfere with the heart's pumping efficiency. Excessive alcohol, thyroid disease, diabetes, hypertension, obstructive disease of the lungs, underlying heart disease, and valvular heart disease can cause AF. There is an urgent need to create an awareness of the disease as it is not recognized as major health hazard. Health experts state that the condition is common and associated with high morbidity and mortality…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One of the non-specific signs of Heart failure is peripheral edema. Peripheral edema can be the result of sodium and water retention, and can be treated with diuretic therapy but this can be masked if the patient is in diuretic therapy. Due to the patient being in diuretic therapy already, peripheral edema becomes difficult to detect (McMurray et al., 2012). Signs and symptoms such as elevated jugular venous pressure, and palpitation of the apical impulse are much harder to detect, especially if the patient has multiple doctors.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Outline On Heart Failure

    • 1650 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What is Heart Failure? According to MayoClinic. Org,” Heart failure, sometimes referred to as congestive heart failure, occurs when your heart muscle doesn't pump blood as well as it should. Certain conditions, such as narrowed arteries in your heart (coronary artery disease) or high blood pressure, gradually leave your heart too weak or stiff to fill and pump efficiently.”…

    • 1650 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Sarah Grace Burton and Emily Dickey May 23rd, 2017 Anatomy HN - Vogel 4th Period Atrial Fibrillation Inside of the cardiovascular system, the heart normally has a regular heartbeat that is consistent. But for some people, their heartbeat is quivering and irregular which is called arrhythmia as the atria gets off beat. This rapid, abnormal heart-related condition is called Atrial Fibrillation, or more commonly known as AFib or AF. It can be caused by a variety of things, including some that may surprise you.…

    • 1780 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Atrial Fibrillation

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As a result, the hearts upper and lower chambers don’t work together as they should. The atria and ventricles no longer beat in a coordinated way. This creates a fast and irregular heart rhythm. The heart rate during Atrial Fibrillation can range from 400-500 BPM. On an EKG the Atrial Fibrillation looks like small irregular complexes that are hard to interpret because the P waves can’t be identified.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    VASOVAGAL SYNCOPE 3 Vasovagal Syncope It starts with a feeling of whirling sensation, followed by blurred vision, and a muffled sense of hearing, until one unknowingly wakes up on the floor, wondering what had happened. This type of syncope is the classic movie scene when someone receives shocking news and passes out (Team, 2015). As scary as it is, this type of fainting is quite common in the United States. Vasovagal syncope is a result of a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure, the body’s reaction to a stressful trigger (Mayo Clinic, 2017).…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    the heart is a complex organ made of muscle and is compromised of four chambers including a right and left atrium and corresponding ventricles. the function of the heart is to pump oxygen rich blood throughout the body while receiving blood and sending it to the lungs to be re oxygenated then repeating the cycle. all of the body's different tissues require this oxygen rich blood to perform their functions. however, there are many problems that can affect the function of the heart. some of these problems are congenital meaning present at birth.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sometimes when we ingest certain substances, we can stimulate foci (nodes that pace the heart at a certain speed) in the heart which can give us the feeling of “skipping a beat.” The feeling of “skipping a beat” is actually another beat that follows the original beat quickly which gives us that feeling. A lot of factors can stimulate other foci such as atrial and junctional in our heart. These factors, according to Dr. Dubin, includes adrenaline (epinephrine) released by adrenal glands, increases sympathetic stimulation, the presence of caffeine, amphetamines, cocaine or other beta 1 receptor stimulants, excess digitalis, some toxins, occasionally ethanol, hyperthyroidism or low oxygen. It is a bit different with the stimulation of ventricular…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper you will find information about pacemakers and defibrillators. Pacemakers and defibrillators are devices that help keep the heart in rhythm. If the heart starts to beat to slow or to fast it will send an electrical shock to get it back on pace. When you get one or both devices implanted in you will need to have regular check-up with the doctors, these should not affect your daily life. Later on in the article you read that you may be allowed to still participate in fast paced sports such as basketball or soccer.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hypothermia Lab Report

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Confusion, 6. Weak pulse, 7. Excessive fatigue, 8. Unconsciousness Diagnosis:…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cardiac Arrhythmia Essay

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cardiac Dysrhythmia Cardiac Dysrhythmia also known as cardiac arrhythmia is a group of of conditions where the heartbeat is irregular and or too fast or too slow. Tachycardia is known as a heart rate that is over 100 beats per minute for adults ,while Bradycardia is too slow with below 60 beats per minute. Majority of arrhythmia issues are not serious, but some predispose one to complications like heart failure or a stroke. Arrhythmia are the leading cause of sudden cardiac death, with 400,000 victims a year. There are four main types of arrhythmia, premature beats, supraventicular arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, and bradycardia.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays