Heart Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. It can be too fast, too slow or simply irregular. Effectively they are a breakdown of the system of electrical impulses that control the heart-beat.
Sometimes Arrhythmia can show no visible signs of its existence, perhaps a little fluttering of the heart, perhaps a little racing, but nothing of great import. For some people, however, symptoms can be extremely uncomfortable, life-threatening even.
Many such symptoms are common to other conditions. For example, Sweating, shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, fainting. Even if the symptoms are apparent, they do not necessarily spell danger, but they could do. If in doubt always consult a doctor.
It is particularly important to see a doctor if the symptoms come up unexpectedly.
One particularly dangerous form of Arrhythmia is “Ventricular Fibrillation”. Here the ventricles (the heart’s pumping chambers), just quiver without pumping round the blood. Without a properly functioning heart-beat blood pressure drops and blood does not reach vital organs. The situation can be fatal.
Ventricular Fibrillation will usually cause someone to collapse within seconds.
Smoking and excessive drinking of alcohol increase the chances of suffering from Arrhythmia. Healthy eating and exercise increase one’s chances of avoiding it.