when should i be worried about an irregular heartbeat

The QT interval is the area on the ECG that represents the time it takes for the heart muscle to contract and then recover, or for the electrical impulse to fire and then recharge. Long QT: While this is not an arrhythmia, it can predispose someone to have one.This is a medical emergency that must be treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation (delivery of an energy shock to your heart muscle to restore a normal rhythm) as soon as possible. The ventricles quiver and can’t generate an effective contraction, which results in a lack of blood being delivered to your body. Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib): An erratic, disorganized firing of impulses from the ventricles.

A cardiologist should evaluate this condition. V-tach can be serious, especially in people with heart disease, and may be associated with more symptoms than other types of arrhythmia. The rapid rhythm keeps the heart from adequately filling with blood, and less blood is able to pump through the body. Ventricular tachycardia (V-tach): A rapid heartbeat that begins in the ventricles.People who have several PVCs and/or symptoms associated with them should be evaluated by a cardiologist (heart doctor). They can be also be caused by heart disease or electrolyte imbalance. This type of arrhythmia is common and can be related to stress, too much caffeine or nicotine, or exercise. Most of the time, PVCs don’t cause any symptoms or require treatment. Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs): Early, extra heartbeats that start out in the ventricles.Types of ventricular arrhythmias include: What are the types of ventricular arrhythmias?Ī ventricular arrhythmia begins in the heart’s ventricles. Atrial flutter is usually more organized and regular than atrial fibrillation. Atrial flutter: An atrial arrhythmia caused by one or more rapid circuits in the atrium.Because the impulses are traveling through the atria in a disorderly fashion, there’s a loss of coordinated atrial contraction. This results in a disorganized rapid and irregular rhythm. This happens when many impulses begin and spread through the atria, competing for a chance to travel through the AV node. Atrial fibrillation: A very common irregular heart rhythm.Atrial tachycardia: A rapid heart rhythm that starts in the atria.AV nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT): A fast heart rhythm caused by the presence of more than one pathway through the atrioventricular (AV) node.This allows the impulses to travel around your heart very quickly, causing it to beat unusually fast (example: Wolff- Parkinson-White syndrome). The impulses travel through the extra pathways as well as the usual route. Accessory pathway tachycardias (bypass tract tachycardias): A fast heart rhythm caused by an extra, abnormal electrical pathway or connection between the atria and ventricles.This type of arrhythmia begins and ends suddenly. Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT): A rapid but regular heart rhythm that comes from the atria.Types of supraventricular arrhythmias include: Supraventricular arrhythmias begin in the atria or the upper chambers of your heart. What are the types of supraventricular arrhythmias? Bradyarrhythmias: Slow heart rhythms that may be caused by disease in the heart’s conduction system, such as the sinoatrial (SA) node, atrioventricular (AV) node or HIS-Purkinje network.Ventricular arrhythmias: Arrhythmias that begin in the ventricles (the heart’s lower chambers).“Ventricular” refers to the lower chambers of the heart or ventricles. Supraventricular arrhythmias: Arrhythmias that begin in the atria (the heart’s upper chambers).AV Node Re-entrant Tachycardia What is an arrhythmia?Īn arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia) is an irregular or abnormal heartbeat.

When should i be worried about an irregular heartbeat