I decided to do a separate page on the types of arrhythmias because of the length and also because of the importance of taking care of them.  As stated on the arrhythmia page, it is the number-one cause of death, and to me that deserves some attention.

• Sinus arrhythmias:  Cyclic changes in the heart rate during breathing. Common in children and often found in adults.
• Sinus tachycardia:  This sinus node sends out electrical signal faster than usual, speeding up the heart rate.
• Sick sinus syndrome:  The sinus node does not fire its signals properly, so that the heart rate slows down.  Sometimes the rate changes back and forth between a slow  (bradycardia) and fast (tachycardia) rate.
• Premature supraventricular contractions or premature atrial contraction (PAC):  A beat occur early in the atria, causing the heart to beat before the next regular heartbeat.
• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT):  A series of early beats in the atria speed up the heart rate.  In paroxysmal tachycardia, repeated periods of very fast heartbeats begin and end suddenly. Heart beat is 140-200 beats per minute, and can persist for several minutes to hours or days.
• Atrial flutter:  Rapidly fired signals cause the muscles in the atria to contract quickly, leading to a very fast, steady heartbeat.  The heart beats 240-350 beats per minute.
• Atrial fibrillation:  Electrical signals in the atria are fired in a very fast and uncontrolled manner.  Electrical signals arrive in the ventricles in a completely irregular fashion, so the heart beat is completely irregular. The heart beats at more than 350 beats a minute.
• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome:  Abnormal pathways between the atria and ventricles cause the electrical signal to arrive at the ventricles too soon and to be transmitted back into the atria. Very fast heart rates may develop as  the electrical signal ricochets between the atria and ventricles.  The heart beats from 120-240 beats per minute.

Arrhythmias originating in the Ventricles:

• Premature ventricular complexes (PVC):  An electrical signal from the ventricles causes an early heart beat that generally goes unnoticed. The heart then seems to pause until the next beat of the ventricle occurs in a regular fashion.
• Ventricular tachycardia:  The heart beats fast due to electrical signals arising from the ventricles (rather than from the atria).  The heart beats is 150-250 beats per minute.
• Ventricular fibrillation:  Electrical signals in the ventricles are fired in a very fast and uncontrolled manner, causing the heart to quiver rather than beat and pump blood.  This is very serious and the patient must be treated within 3 to 4 minutes.