Heart Electrical Activity Problems

Talking about the cardiac electrical system and abnormal heart rhythms can be very confusing.

Heart electrical activity problems.

The timing of the heart s contractions is directed by the heart s electrical system. Rhythm disturbances may be normal physiologic responses but some may be potentially life threatening. These actions when timed perfectly allow for an efficient pump. You wear small electrode patches on your chest arms and legs for the quick painless test which you take in your doctor s office.

Heart arrhythmias uh rith me uhs may feel like a fluttering or racing heart and may be harmless. Abnormalities in the heart s electrical system can lead to problems with the heart rate too fast or too slow or can entirely disrupt the normal functioning of the heart even if the heart s muscles and valves themselves are entirely normal. This may be the situation when the slow heart beat is due to problems with the sinus node sick sinus syndrome. With heart block these signals are delayed or interrupted completely.

However often the slow heart beat cannot be improved by medication adjustments and then a pacemaker is needed. Sometimes an irregular heart beat can be improved by adjusting medications. Heart block is a problem with the flow of electrical signals in your heart. The electrical impulse begins in the sinoatrial sa node located in the right atrium.

A healthy sa node has an intrinsic heart beat. It may also happen when you are do a certain activity such as exercise. Heart problems often affect the electrical activity of your heart. Fortunately the body tends to protect the heart as best as it can.

The heart and its electrical activity work within a narrow range of normal. An electrophysiology ep study is a test that records the electrical activity and the electrical pathways of your heart in order to determine the best treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm. Every cell in the heart can act as a pacemaker. Pacemakers are also needed when there is electrical block of the signals.

Normally the sa node adjusts the rate of impulses depending on the person s activity. Heart rhythm problems heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don t work properly causing your heart to beat too fast too slow or irregularly.