Arrhythmia is a general term for a number of heart rhythm disorders that can range from mild to potentially life-threatening. In the early stages, these conditions can manifest with subtle symptoms such as chest pain, sudden weakness, dizziness, or low blood pressure, a cardiologist told the BBC.
Arrhythmias are not just irregular heartbeats. They include conditions such as extrasystoles, tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, and atrial flutter. All of these forms disrupt the normal functioning of the myocardium and can be a prerequisite for heart attack, stroke, or thromboembolism.
Types of arrhythmia and their manifestations
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Extrasystole. Characterized by sharp chest thrusts or a feeling that the heart "freezes" for a moment. Sometimes there is a lack of heartbeats due to sudden contractions.
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Tachycardia. In such cases, a person feels a tremor in the chest, a rapid heartbeat even at rest.
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Atrial fibrillation. The rhythm becomes chaotic: it speeds up, then slows down. The heart works unevenly, as if losing its usual synchrony.
The cardiologist notes that people with cardiac pathologies, congenital heart defects, or those with a family history of sudden death should be especially attentive to symptoms.
When to sound the alarm
In the early stages, arrhythmia may be accompanied by the following signs:
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chest pain;
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dyspnea;
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sudden weakness;
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lowering blood pressure;
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dizziness;
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brief loss of consciousness.
As the specialist emphasizes, at the age of 40+, you need to monitor these symptoms especially carefully, because the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases increases with age.
