Abnormal heart rhythms
Your heart is a muscle that pumps blood
around the body. For the pump to work, it needs an electrical
supply.
This is provided by a special group of heart cells called the
sinus node, which is also known as your heart’s natural
pacemaker.
The electrical signal produced by the
sinus node makes your heart’s top chambers or
atria contract and push blood through to the
lower chambers or ventricles. When the impulses
reach the ventricles, they contract to push the blood out of the
heart and into the lungs and the rest of the body.
These electrical impulses cause your
heart to beat between 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm).
The normal electrical pattern of your
heart, is known as sinus rhythm, and can be
recorded doing an electrocardiogram (ECG). You can measure
your own heart rate and feel your rhythm by taking your pulse.
It's normal for your heart to beat at
different rates during the day. For example it will be slower when
you are sleeping, resting or doing activites that do not require a
lot of effort but may be faster when you are physically active such
as when you are gardening, walking briskly, or running.
Your heart rate might also be faster if you are anxious or
excited.
My heart rate sometimes feels different. Is this a
problem?
You may experience a sensation of feeling your heart
beating whether it is beating normally, quickly, slowly or
irregularly. Some people describe them as feeling that your heart
is pounding or fluttering. These sensations are called
palpitations.
For most people,
although palpitations can feel unpleasant, they’re usually
harmless and do not mean anything is wrong with your
heart.
You might also feel that your heart
has missed or 'skipped' a beat or there has been an extra beat. An
extra beat is called an ectopic
beat. Ectopic beats are very common and are usually
harmless and do not need any treatment.
If you are concerned about
palpitations or ectopic beats, you should speak to your doctor who
will be able to do an ECG to
assess your heart rate and the rhythm.
My heart seems to beat differently.
What does this mean?
There are lots of reasons why you may
have a different heart rhythm. You may hear your doctor or nurse
describe anything that is different from the normal sinus rhythm as
an arrhythmia. Some of the common
reasons you may have an arrhythmia are:
- Your heart is beating either very
fast or very slowly
- The electrical impulses are coming
from another part of the heart and not the sinus node
- The electrical impulses are coming
from the sinus node, but going to the lower chambers of the
heart by an unusual path.
The most common arrhythmia is
Atrial
fibrillation.
Discuss heart rhythms
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