Was the change sudden? Does your heartbeat return to normal when you lie down? Do you have other symptoms such as feeling nauseated, light-headed or faint, or extremely tired for no reason? Other symptoms such as nausea, light-headedness, fainting, or severe fatigue.
Do you have a fast heart rate more than beats per minute for no clear reason? Many heart rate changes are minor and have an obvious cause. Do you have a slow heart rate less than 50 beats per minute that is not normal for you?
A slow heart rate is normal for some people, especially endurance athletes. What you are looking for is a change in your usual heart rate. Do you have an irregular heart rhythm that is new to you? Do you have a history of heart problems, such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, or heart rhythm problems like atrial fibrillation? Do you feel light-headed or dizzy, like you are going to faint? It's normal for some people to feel a little light-headed when they first stand up.
But anything more than that may be serious. Do you get short of breath during physical activity and have trouble getting your heartbeat and breathing under control? It's normal to feel out of breath and have your heart rate speed up when you are exercising hard.
But your breathing and heart rate should return to normal soon after you slow down or stop. Do you think that a medicine or drug may be causing the change in your heart rate or rhythm?
Think about whether the heartbeat changes started after you began using a new medicine or a higher dose of a medicine. Have you been noticing changes in your heartbeat for more than a week? These include: Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner. Medicines you take. Certain medicines, such as blood thinners anticoagulants , medicines that suppress the immune system like steroids or chemotherapy, or natural health products can cause symptoms or make them worse.
Recent health events , such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious. Your health habits and lifestyle , such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel. Try Home Treatment You have answered all the questions.
Try home treatment to relieve the symptoms. Call your doctor if symptoms get worse or you have any concerns for example, if symptoms are not getting better as you would expect. You may need care sooner. Heartbeat changes can include: A faster or slower heartbeat than is normal for you.
This would include a pulse rate of more than beats per minute when you are not exercising or less than 60 beats per minute unless that is normal for you.
A heart rate that does not have a steady pattern. Skipped beats. Extra beats. Some common examples are: Stress. Illness or fever. Panic attacks. Stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine. Medicine side effects. These include: Passing out losing consciousness. Feeling very dizzy or light-headed, like you may pass out.
Feeling very weak or having trouble standing. Not feeling alert or able to think clearly. You may be confused, restless, fearful, or unable to respond to questions. Being very sleepy or hard to wake up. Not responding when being touched or talked to. Breathing much faster than usual.
Acting confused. The child may not know where he or she is. Symptoms of a heart attack may include: Chest pain or pressure, or a strange feeling in the chest. Shortness of breath. Nausea or vomiting. Pain, pressure, or a strange feeling in the back, neck, jaw, or upper belly, or in one or both shoulders or arms. Light-headedness or sudden weakness. A fast or irregular heartbeat. For example: You may feel a little out of breath but still be able to talk mild difficulty breathing , or you may be so out of breath that you cannot talk at all severe difficulty breathing.
It may be getting hard to breathe with activity mild difficulty breathing , or you may have to work very hard to breathe even when you're at rest severe difficulty breathing. Severe trouble breathing means: You cannot talk at all. You have to work very hard to breathe.
You feel like you can't get enough air. You do not feel alert or cannot think clearly. Moderate trouble breathing means: It's hard to talk in full sentences. It's hard to breathe with activity.
Mild trouble breathing means: You feel a little out of breath but can still talk. It's becoming hard to breathe with activity. Severe trouble breathing means: The child cannot eat or talk because he or she is breathing so hard.
The child's nostrils are flaring and the belly is moving in and out with every breath. The child seems to be tiring out. The child seems very sleepy or confused. Moderate trouble breathing means: The child is breathing a lot faster than usual.
The child has to take breaks from eating or talking to breathe. The nostrils flare or the belly moves in and out at times when the child breathes. Mild trouble breathing means: The child is breathing a little faster than usual.
The child seems a little out of breath but can still eat or talk. A few examples are: Asthma medicines. Decongestants and cold medicines.
Illegal drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines. Some heart and blood pressure medicines. Some medicines for depression and anxiety. Thyroid medicine. Call Now Based on your answers, you need emergency care. Seek Care Now Based on your answers, you may need care right away. Call your doctor now to discuss the symptoms and arrange for care. If you cannot reach your doctor or you don't have one, seek care in the next hour.
You do not need to call an ambulance unless: You cannot travel safely either by driving yourself or by having someone else drive you. However, awareness of heartbeats called palpitations Palpitations Palpitations are the awareness of heartbeats.
The sensation may feel like pounding, fluttering, racing, or skipping beats. Other symptoms—for example, chest discomfort or shortness of breath—may Some people can feel normal heartbeats, and most people can feel heartbeats when they lie on their left side. Arrhythmias have consequences that range from harmless to life threatening. The seriousness of an arrhythmia may not be closely linked with the severity of the symptoms it causes.
Some life-threatening arrhythmias cause no symptoms, and some otherwise inconsequential arrhythmias may cause severe symptoms. The nature and severity of the underlying heart disorder are often more important than the arrhythmia itself. Fainting syncope is a sudden, brief loss of consciousness during which the person falls to the ground or slumps in a Fainting occurs when the heart is pumping so inefficiently that it can no longer maintain adequate blood pressure.
If such an arrhythmia persists, death may result. Arrhythmias may also aggravate the symptoms of an underlying heart disorder, including chest pain and shortness of breath. Arrhythmias that cause symptoms require prompt attention. Some otherwise inconsequential arrhythmias may cause troubling symptoms, while some life-threatening arrhythmias may cause no symptoms.
The most important considerations are whether the palpitations are. Doctors also need to know whether the palpitations occur at rest or only during strenuous or unusual activity and whether they start and stop suddenly or gradually. Certain diagnostic procedures are usually needed to determine the exact nature of the arrhythmia and its cause.
This record, the electrocardiogram also known as an ECG This procedure provides a graphic representation of the electrical current producing each heartbeat. Usually, ECG records the heart rhythm for only a very short time. This can detect abnormalities that are constant; however, sometimes abnormal heart rhythms This monitor, usually worn for 24 or 48 hours, can record sporadic arrhythmias as the person engages in normal daily activities. During the recording period, the person also keeps a diary of symptoms and activities, which are correlated with the arrhythmias.
To detect dangerous arrhythmias that occur very infrequently, doctors sometimes implant a recording device under the skin below the left collarbone clavicle.
The device can be left in place for long periods. It electronically transmits stored recordings of abnormal heart rhythms painlessly through the skin. People with suspected life-threatening arrhythmias are usually hospitalized. Their heart rhythm is continuously recorded and displayed on a television-type monitor by the bedside or at the nursing station.
Thus, any problems can be identified promptly. Exercise stress testing Stress Testing Stressing the heart by exercise or by use of stimulant drugs to make the heart beat faster and more forcibly can help identify coronary artery disease. In coronary artery disease, blood flow Echocardiography Echocardiography and Other Ultrasound Procedures Ultrasonography uses high-frequency ultrasound waves bounced off internal structures to produce a moving image.
It uses no x-rays. Ultrasonography of the heart echocardiography is one of Electrophysiologic testing Electrophysiologic Testing Electrophysiologic testing is used to evaluate serious abnormalities in heart rhythm or electrical conduction see Overview of Abnormal Heart Rhythms. In people in whom an arrhythmia is already During electrophysiologic testing, catheters with tiny electrodes at their tip are inserted through a vein and threaded into the heart.
An electrocardiogram ECG represents the electrical current moving through the heart during a heartbeat. The current's movement is divided into parts, and each part is given an alphabetic designation in the ECG.
Each heartbeat begins with an impulse from the heart's pacemaker sinus or sinoatrial node. This impulse activates the upper chambers of the heart atria. The P wave represents activation of the atria. Next, the electrical current flows down to the lower chambers of the heart ventricles.
The QRS complex represents activation of the ventricles. The electrical current then spreads back over the ventricles in the opposite direction. This activity is called the recovery wave, which is represented by the T wave.
Many kinds of abnormalities can often be seen on an ECG. They include a previous heart attack myocardial infarction , an abnormal heart rhythm arrhythmia , an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to the heart ischemia , and excessive thickening hypertrophy of the heart's muscular walls.
Certain abnormalities seen on an ECG can also suggest bulges aneurysms that develop in weak areas of the heart's walls. Aneurysms may result from a heart attack. If the rhythm is abnormal too fast, too slow, or irregular , the ECG may also indicate where in the heart the abnormal rhythm starts. Such information helps doctors begin to determine the cause. Thus, they usually pose little or no risk, although they can cause considerable anxiety if a person becomes aware of them. However, some arrhythmias, harmless in themselves, can lead to more serious arrhythmias.
How serious depends in part on whether the arrhythmia originates in the sinoatrial node Regulation of the Heart The heart and blood vessels constitute the cardiovascular circulatory system. The heart pumps the blood to the lungs so it can pick up oxygen and then pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body Generally, arrhythmias that originate in the ventricles are more serious than those that originate in the atria, which are more serious than those that originate in the sinoatrial node or atrioventricular node.
However, there are many exceptions. For people who have a harmless yet bothersome arrhythmia, reassurance that the arrhythmia is harmless may be treatment enough. Avoiding alcohol, caffeine in beverages and foods , and smoking may also help. Avoiding strenuous exercise may help if palpitations occur only during exercise. Sometimes people need to stop driving until doctors can determine whether treatment is effective.
Antiarrhythmic drugs are useful for suppressing fast arrhythmias that cause intolerable symptoms or pose a risk. No single drug suppresses all arrhythmias in all people. Sometimes several drugs must be tried until the response is satisfactory. Sometimes antiarrhythmic drugs can worsen or even cause arrhythmias. This effect is called proarrhythmia. Antiarrhythmic drugs may also cause other side effects.
These devices are implanted surgically under the skin, usually below the left or right collarbone. They are connected to the heart by wires leads running inside a vein. Multiple sclerosis MS drugs can modify disease progression, treat relapses, and more.
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Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph. Symptoms Causes Risk factors Diagnosis Treatment Outlook Prevention An abnormal heart rhythm is when your heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly. The types of abnormal heart rhythms The most common types of abnormal heart rhythms are: Tachycardia Tachycardia means that your heart is beating too fast.
There are three subtypes of tachycardia: Supraventricular tachycardia occurs in the upper chambers of your heart known as the atria. Ventricular tachycardia occurs in the lower chambers known as the ventricles.
With sinus tachycardia, your heartbeat returns to normal once you get better or become calm. Atrial fibrillation This disorganized heart rhythm occurs in the upper chambers of the heart. Atrial flutter An atrial flutter AFL typically occurs in the right atrium, which is one of the two upper chambers of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation Ventricular fibrillation VF can stop the heart from beating and cause cardiac arrest.
Premature contractions With most premature contractions, the heart appears to skip a beat when the pulse is taken in the wrist or chest. What are the symptoms of abnormal heart rhythms?
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