What is Arrhythmia? 

An arrhythmia is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slowly, or with an irregular rhythm. Tachycardia is the condition when a heart beats too fast. When a heart beats too slowly, the condition is called bradycardia. Arrhythmias differ from normal heartbeats in speed or rhythm. Arrhythmias are also grouped by where they occur—in the upper chambers of the heart, in its lower chambers, or between the chambers. The main types of arrhythmia are bradyarrhythmia’s; premature, or extra, beats; supraventricular arrhythmias; and ventricular arrhythmias.

Treatment Options:

Common arrhythmia treatments include heart-healthy lifestyle changes, medicines, surgically implanted devices that control the heartbeat, and other procedures that treat abnormal electrical signals in the heart.

-       Being physically active

-       Heart-healthy eating

-       Managing stress

-       Atropine

-       Calcium channel blockers 

-       Beta blockers

-       Cardioversion 

-       Defibrillator 

-       Pacemaker 

Facts & Statistics: 

-       Heart arrhythmias are very common and nearly everyone will experience an abnormal heart rhythm some time during their lives. Most are not serious

-       Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained heart rhythm disorder and increases the risk for heart disease and stroke.

-       In the United States more than 850,000 people are hospitalized for an arrhythmia each year.

-       Less than 100 thousand Americans have an implantable defibrillator (ICD).

-       The most common life-threatening arrhythmia is ventricular fibrillation, which is an erratic, disorganized firing of impulses from the ventricles (the heart's lower chambers).

Reference URL’s:

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/arrhythmia

https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/documents/arrhythmias.pdf

https://www.carolinaheartandleg.com/arrhythmia/