What is it?

The heart normally beats in a constant pattern, but Cardiac Dysrhythmia (also known as an Arrhythmia) causes abnormal and irregular electrical pulses or heart beats. Cardiac Dysrhythmia is the name for a group of heart conditions , and many arrhythmias are harmless. We have all felt our heart skip a beat, and this is just a mild and benign Arrhythmia, and it usually passes. This condition can range from merely irritating, to life threatening and can lead to cardiac arrest (heart attack) and sudden death, as the heart isnt being supplied with a constant flow of blood and therefore the brain and body cannot function properly. In the United States of America, more than 850,000 people are hospitalized for an arrhythmia every year.

What types of Cardiac Dysrhythmia are there?

The heart rate naturally changes, E.G. emotion, exercise or when you are sleeping, But I am going to be discussing the more serious and life threatening types of Cardiac Dysrhythmia. There are two places where Cardiac Dysrhythmia occurs, and they in the Atria (upper chambers of the heart) and this is called a Supraventricular Arrhythmia. It also takes place in the Ventricles (lower chambers of the heart), and the term for this is a Ventricular Arrhythmia. Cardiac Dysrhythmia can cause the heart to beat too fast (Tachycardia), too slow (Bradycardia), too early (Premature Contraction), or irregularly (Fibrillation).

Atrial Fibrillation is...

a common long term Arrhythmia that usually lasts a life time. A normal heart beats between 60 to 100 times a minute, but Atria Fibrillation causes the Atria to beat 400 to 600 times a minute, and the Ventricles 170 to 200 times a minute. Therefore, the atria is beating 8 times as fast as a healthy heart should.

Ventricular Fibrillation is...

A severely abnormal and life threatening Arrhythmia, in which the heart ceases to beat and twitches and quivers. During Ventricular Fibrillation, blood is not pumped into the heart, nor is it removed. It occurs in episodes, and the person which has one of these episodes will suddenly collapse and become unconscious and this will lead to cardiac death if help is not sought after immediately, as the heart and brain are not receiving blood and oxygen.

What Are the Causes of Cardiac Dysrhythmia?

There are many things that can trigger Cardiac Dysrhythmia, for example:

External Causes
Certain drug use and medication, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol and caffeine Emotional stress, exhaustion and overexertion

Internal Causes
Coronary heart disease,(CHD) which is the narrowing of

blood vessels which supply the heart with blood and oxygen. The blood vessels often narrow because there are fatty deposits and other substances forming a plaque on the wall of the vessel. When the hearts SA node (sinuatrial node) is defective. The SA node is the part of the body that sends electrical signals to the chambers of the heart. These signals must follow an exact route to ensure the heart pumps properly. Birth defects, Thyroid problems ( a gland which controls how quickly the body uses up energy, how the body reacts to other hormones and makes proteins),inflammatory diseases and problems with the automatic nervous system ( carries nerve impulses from brain and spinal cord to the heart. Scarring of the heart tissue( often caused by a heart attack)

What is the normal function of the heart?

A healthy heart beats for an entire lifetime, pumping blood into every cell of the body. Firstly, the SA node positioned in the right atrium, generates an impulse to the heart, causing it to contract or beat. This contraction pumps oxygen enriched blood into the blood vessels, which supply every part of the body with blood. The left side of the heart takes blood to and from the body, and the right side does the same with the lungs. The heart rate is dependant on the bodies needs. If you are exercising, the body is using energy and oxygen up faster, so the heart increases the rate it is pumping to get an adequate amount of blood (therefore oxygen and energy )to the body.

What are the symptoms?

There are a range of symptoms that can indicate you have Cardiac Dysrhythmia, but something to be ware of is that it most commonly occurs in people who already have a heart disease. Palpitations Feeling dizzy or light headed A pounding chest Fainting Fatigue or feeling out of energy Shortness of breath Feeling sweaty Heart beat may feel like a pulse in your neck

How to prevent Cardiac Dysrhythmia

Reduce stress If you smoke, try to quit or reduce the amount Limit alcohol Intake Try not to use some over the counter cough and cold medicines, as some contain certain ingredients that can cause an irregular heartbeat.

How can it be treated?

If the source of Cardiac Dysrhythmia is the heart beating too slowly, then this can be treated by installing a pacemaker in the heart, which is an artificial SA node. There is also prescription drugs that you can take to regulate the heart beat. If it is life threatening, then surgery can be performed, but it is usually only emergency surgery.

By Isabel Wadeson-Lee 10cf

The hearts electrical circuit