Download Chapter # 5 Irregular Heartbeats

Chapter # 5
Irregular Heartbeats
Know what to do if you have irregular heart beats
You Will Learn:
1) What an irregular heartbeat is
2) What causes irregular heartbeats
3) How to deal with irregular heartbeats
Chapter 5—Irregular Heartbeats
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What Is An Irregular Heart Beat?
A normal heartbeat is steady - one beat after the other. When you take your pulse, you are
counting your heart rate and feeling the heart rhythm. An arrhythmia (also known as an
irregular heartbeat) is when your heart beats too quickly or too slowly for you, or when your
heart beats too early. If your heart:

Is beating too quickly for you, your pulse count will be higher

Is beating too slowly for you, your pulse count will be lower

Beats too early, you may feel a pause in your pulse count
Types of Irregular Heartbeats
1)
Arrhythmias with a Slow Heartbeat
When the electrical signal in your heart is slowed and your heart beats less than 60 times per
minute this is known as bradycardia. This may occur if you have a heart block.
2)
Arrhythmias with a Fast Heartbeat
When the electrical signal in your heart is too fast and your heart beats more than 100 times
per minute this is known as tachycardia. There are several examples of this:
3)

Atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)

Ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (V-fib)
Arrhythmia with an Early Heartbeat
Most people, even people without heart disease, get early heartbeats at some time. Early
heartbeats happen when something (explained below) bothers your heart cells and causes
them to send out a signal too early. This can cause the heart to beat early.
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Causes of Early Heartbeats:

Caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate)

Too much alcohol or binge drinking

Smoking

Stress

Fatigue (being tired) and illness

Hot, humid, cold and windy weather

Not doing a proper warm up

Not doing a proper cool down

Doing more than your exercise prescription
How to Record Early Heartbeats on Your Exercise Diary:

Count the number of beats you feel over the 10 second count

Count the number of pauses you feel

For example, if you felt 12 beats over 10 seconds and felt 1 pause, record it as
12 + 1 on your exercise diary
When Should You Be Concerned?
Most people with or without heart disease may experience irregular or skipped beats at some
time. Occasional skipped beats are not a problem. If you feel unwell and have symptoms
(such as angina, shortness of breath, light-headedness or dizziness) when you have the
skipped or irregular beats, contact your physician and Cardiac Rehab team for further advice.
What Are the Treatments for Arrhythmias?
If you feel unwell and have symptoms (such as angina, feeling dizzy, shortness of breath,
passing out) contact your doctor for further advice. We provide some of the common
treatments for arrhythmias below. Your doctor will discuss the best treatment options for you.
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Medicine
Your doctor may prescribe you medicine to manage your arrhythmia. Common medicines
prescribed for arrhythmias include:

Digitalis preparations

Calcium channel blockers

Beta-blockers
Cardioversion
Cardioversion is a treatment where controlled electrical pulses are sent through your body to
your heart. These electrical pulses trigger the heart to resume its normal rhythm.
Surgery
There are 4 types of surgery that may be used to treat arrhythmias.
1)
Ablation
This procedure can be used to destroy the cells that send out electrical signals to make your
heart beat too quickly.
2)
Maze Procedure
This procedure stops bad electrical signals from moving through your heart (e.g., atrial
fibrillation).
3)
Pacemaker
This procedure attaches a small device to your heart to help your heart maintain a normal
rhythm.
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4)
Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD)
This procedure attaches a small device to your heart to track and correct your heart rhythm.
This device can detect when your heart is beating too fast and sends an electrical pulse to
your heart to resume its normal rhythm.
Your Resources
1. The Heart and Stroke Foundation at http://www.heartandstroke.com
2. The Mayo Clinic at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-arrhythmias
Chapter 5—Irregular Heartbeats
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