Heart Arrhythmia

What is arrhythmia? Your heart works like an electrical pump, sending out currents that synchronize your heartbeats. Arrhythmias occur when these electrical pulses beat too fast, slow, or erratically.

Arrhythmia symptoms

If you have an arrhythmia, you may experience heart fluttering, chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness. Some heart rhythm issues are harmless and don’t cause any symptoms. But certain arrhythmias can be life-threatening and increase your risk of heart failure and stroke.

Arrhythmia causes

Arrhythmia causes may include:

  • coronary artery disease.
  • heart attack or scarring from previous heart attack.
  • diabetes.
  • high blood pressure.
  • cardiomyopathy.
  • COVID-19 infection.
  • sleep apnea.
  • drug or alcohol abuse.
  • overactive or underactive thyroid gland.
  • genetics.

Diagnosing heart arrhythmia

At the Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cardiovascular Institute, we use the latest technologies to accurately diagnose and treat your arrhythmia.

Our Electrophysiology (EP) Program features sophisticated diagnostic equipment to test the electrical activity of your heart. Our heart rhythm specialists, or electrophysiologists, utilize advanced heart mapping equipment to pinpoint areas of the heart causing the arrhythmia There are different types of cardiac arrhythmias.

Types of arrhythmias include:

Atrial fibrillation (AFib)

In atrial fibrillation, your heart’s upper chambers contract irregularly.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT)

VT is a fast rhythm originating from the bottom chambers of the heart.

Bradycardia

Bradycardia involves slow heart rates that may be unstable or cause symptoms.

Tachycardia arrhythmia

Tachycardia occurs when your resting heart rate is greater than 100 beats per minute.

Premature contractions

Premature contractions are extra heart beats that can originate in the top or bottom chamber of the heart. These beats can sometimes cause a fluttering or sensation of a skipped beat.

Arrhythmia Treatments

Our heart rhythm specialists, or electrophysiologists, utilize advanced heart mapping equipment to pinpoint area