Electrical impulses control the beating of the heart and under normal circumstances,
are the natural pacemaker of the heart. However, sometimes abnormal circuits
or pathways develop, leading the heart to beat too fast or too slow. These
are called arrhythmias. Left untreated, arrhythmias can lead to heart
disease or stroke.
MCH Electrophysiology doctors treat the following heart rhythm disorders:
Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib, is one of the most common heart rhythm disorders, affecting
more than 33.5 million people worldwide. The disease causes a patient’s
heart to beat so fast that blood is not pumped completely out of the upper
chambers (atria) of the heart. This is dangerous because the blood pools
and may clot. If left untreated, patients who have AFib are 5 times more
likely to have a stroke. In addition, AFib patients are more likely to
develop heart failure. Common symptoms include fainting, weakness, dizziness,
shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.
Atrial flutter happens when the fast contractions of the upper chambers of the heart
spread to the lower chambers, causing rapid heartbeats. Symptoms may include
shortness of breath, dizziness, or heart palpitations (racing heart).
Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is a type of fast rhythm of the heart. It is more common in women than
men and the main symptom is heart palpitations.
Wolf Parkinson White (WPW) is another disorder of the heart’s electrical system. In this disorder,
the ventricles of the heart contract too early. Patients who have WPW
may not have symptoms, or may have shortness of breath, dizziness or palpitations.
Atrial tachycardia happens when the electrical impulse comes from an abnormal site and the
heart beats very fast.
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