What are the basic types of arrhythmias?
A person’s normal heart rhythm should beat between 60 and 100 beats per minutes and gradually increase or decrease in a regular manner due to increased or decreased physical activity. Bradycardia is an abnormally slow heart rate less than 60 beats per minute. Bradycardia is normally caused by a dysfunction of the sinus node or the development of another natural atrial pacemaker within the heart tissue. In bradycardia, the heart does not beat fast enough to pump blood to the brain and body. Bradycardia can cause fatigue or fainting. Tachycardia is an abnormally fast heart rate generally greater than 100 beats per minute. Tachycardias can originate in the atria (supraventricular tachycardia) or in the ventricles (ventricular tachycardia). These tachycardias can cause the heart not to properly fill up with oxygenated blood. If these arrhythmias are left untreated, they can be potentially life threatening. Fibrillation is normally characterized by a very irregular beating of the heart. If
