Heart Arrhythmias: Know the Signs, Prevent Complications

By Jo Cavallo

Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

At some time, most people will experience an occasional heart arrhythmia, irregular heartbeats that may feel like a fluttering or a racing heart. Although usually harmless, heart arrhythmias can be troublesome or even life threatening.

Heart arrhythmias occur when there is a change in the normal sequence of electrical impulses in your heart, causing your heart to beat too fast (tachycardia), too slowly (bradycardia), or erratically. When the heart doesn't beat properly, it can't pump blood effectively throughout the body. When there's a shortage of blood to the lungs, brain and other organs in your body, the organs can't work properly and may even shut down or be damaged.

Symptoms of Arrhythmias

In some instances, arrhythmias may not cause any signs or symptoms. In fact, you may not know you have a problem until your doctor detects a heart arrhythmia during a routine physical exam. However, some symptoms are noticeable and in addition to the symptoms mentioned above may also include:

Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Lightheadedness
Dizziness
Fainting or near fainting
Skipping beats-changes in the pattern of your pulse
Sweating

If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor. See your doctor right away if you experience these symptoms suddenly or frequently.

Causes of Arrhythmias

Your risk of heart arrhythmias increases if you have:

Blood chemistry imbalance
Cardiomyopathy: a weakening of the heart muscle or a change in the heart muscle
Heart failure
Overactive thyroid gland
Past heart attack

Arrhythmias may also be caused by the following:

Amphetamines
Caffeine
Cocaine
Beta blockers

If your arrhythmia is serious, you may need urgent treatment to restore a normal heart rhythm, including:

Electrical "shock" therapy (defibrillation or cardioversion)
The implantation of a pacemaker to interrupt the arrhythmia when it happens
Medications called anti-arrhythmic drugs that prevent an arrhythmia from happening or to keep your heart rate from becoming too fast or too slow

Complications from heart arrhythmias may include angina (chest discomfort due to poor blood flow through the blood vessels of the heart muscle), heart attack, heart failure, stroke, or sudden death.