Irregular Heartbeat - Complications It Can Cause?

As the nomenclature appears to indicate, Arrhythmia is a condition where the heartbeat of the affected person does not conform to the rhythm it is designed for. But there are cases of Arrhythmia where the normal heartbeat is available as well. The underlying causes of the condition can be many, including a disorder in the coronary artery and the person having suffered a heart attack or undergone a heart surgery. The irregular heartbeat is medically referred to as fibrillation.

The fact is Arrhythmia manifests itself in different types. They are as below:

1. Atrial fibrillation: This is one of the most common forms of Arrhythmia and the condition is described as irregular beating of the arterial chambers. Atrial fibrillation is observed more in older people than the younger ones. The quivering of the chambers while contracting is described as fibrillation. There are cases where the heartbeat rate reaches 350 per minute.
2. Atrial flutter: There is actually a fine difference between Atrial flutter and Atrial fibrillation. While in the former, the quivering appears to follow a pattern, in the latter, it is random and sporadic. In both the conditions, the pumping of blood through the arteries is irregular, which is a risky condition for the patient. The rate of heartbeat in the case of patients suffering from Atrial flutter can be as high as 250 to 350 per minute. There can be rare instances of people having both these conditions.
3. Supraventricular and Ventricular tachycardia: In both these cases, the person suffers rapid heartbeat. In the case of the ventricular tachycardia, the underlying cause is said to be some abnormal electrical impulse and could be triggered by a scar suffered from an already occurred heart attack. In the case of the Supraventricular tachycardia, the heartbeats can be accelerated at rates of 200 beats per minute. Besides these, there are also Long QT syndrome and Bradycardia. Bradycardia is a condition where the rate of heartbeat is slow but the condition itself is not considered very serious by the specialists.

Complications Arising from Arrhythmia
As described the disease Arrhythmia basically relates to irregular heartbeat. And, this automatically results in reduced pumping of blood into the system. This process can lead to situations where sufficient blood does not reach the brain and that can lead to the person suffering a stroke. Depending on the individual cases strokes can sometimes lead to death as well.

The other two types, bradycardia and tachycardia described above, meaning slow or rapid pumping of the heart, can lead to a failure of the heart unless timely treatment is administered. There is also a school of thought, which seems to suggest there is a link between the fibrillation type Arrhythmia and the onset of Alzheimer’s. Consult an Expert & get answers to your questions!