What is Heart Arrhythmia? 6 Warnings Signs of Having Irregular Heart Beat

when there is a disturbance between the heart and brain receiving signal, the heartbeats tend to go out of rhythm and sometimes it can be life threatening as well.

Our heart has a rhythmic beating that helps the blood and oxygen to flow through the body. These beats are usually in syn with neuro signals that are sent from the brain. Hence, when the beats go out of rhythm, the system goes out of sync, called heart arrhythmia. It basically is a miss when the electrical impulse gets disturbed and these are responsible for regulating heartbeats.

The conduction system of the heart is also responsible for maintaining the heart rate in a particular range (resting rates between 60-100 beats per minute). Any condition that affects the heart rhythm or rate results in cardiac arrhythmia or dysrhythmia.

HEART ARRHYTHMIA: 6 SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

1. Palpitations: Becoming aware of your own heartbeat resulting in a feeling like your heart is fluttering, racing, or beating too hard or too slow.
2. Chest discomfort: One may feel discomfort, pain, or pressure in the chest area.
3. Shortness of breath: You might experience difficulty breathing or a sensation of being out of breath.
4. Dizziness or light-headedness: Some people with arrhythmias may feel dizzy or near-fainting spells.
5. Fatigue: Feeling excessively tired or lacking energy.
6. Sweating: Unexplained sweating, especially during periods of rest or minimal exertion.

As much as a single extra beat, referred to as an ectopic, can cause symptoms and sometimes patient may not be aware of underlying heart rhythm disturbances. Cardiac arrhythmias can last for a variable length of time varying between a few seconds to several hours to days.

HEART ARRHYTHMIA PROBABLE CAUSES

Certain conditions that increase the risk of arrhythmias include:

• coronary artery disease (problems with blood supply of heart)
• weakness of heart muscle
• cardiac valve diseases
• hypertension
• diabetes
• thyroid disease
• conditions causing electrolyte disturbances in blood.

Sometimes these may be caused due to abnormalities in the electrical circuits of the heart. Heart arrhythmias in some instances may be triggered by excess anxiety or stress, lack of sleep, excess caffeine or alcohol intake.

HEART ARRHYTHMIA PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Explaining more about the cardiac problem Dr.Venkat D Nagarajan, Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital Mumbai, spoke exclusively with india.com. He said that, not all cardiac arrhythmias are treated in a similar way. Depending on the nature of cardiac arrhythmia the doctor may choose not to treat, advice about addressing underlying causative problems such as smoking, alcohol consumption, optimal control of high blood pressure, diabetes, problems with overweight and excess anxiety or stress. Different kinds of cardio related therapies may be conducted depending on the pace of the heart rate.

Not all but certainly some forms of heart arrhythmia can be prevented. This would mean timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment of heart conditions as well as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, thyroid a sleep can all prevent cardiac arrhythmia. Addressing issues with excess stress, anxiety, reducing caffeine intake, stopping smoking, regularizing sleep, healthy food habits and regular exercise can be helpful.