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The Heart Beats Too Quickly: Tachycardia

Tachyarrhythmia affects people who have damaged hearts, have already had an infarction from narrowed coronary arteries, or suffer from another heart disease. Racing heartbeats, ventricular flutter or ventricular fibrillation are often triggered by an extrasystole – an additional heartbeat that falls outside of the normal rhythm and is not triggered by the sinus node. In this case, the muscle contracts on its own and not in an orderly fashion. People with healthy hearts can easily withstand extrasystoles. But if the heart is already damaged, then the signal from the sinus node may not be able to restore the normal rhythm.
 

Racing Heart

From a medical point of view, racing heartbeats qualify as tachycardia. The heartbeat is usually still regular, but much too fast. The consequences are generally feeling weak and dizzy.

Atrial Flutter

The heart rate is high and excitation of the atrium regular. Only every second or fourth signal is conducted to the ventricles. Atrial flutter can be the result of a reentrant circuit or spontaneous signal formation in the atrial tissue.
 

Ventricular Flutter

Ventricular flutter corresponds to a heart rate superior to 250 beats per minute and is very dangerous. The heart chambers contract so quickly that there is hardly any time for the blood to fill the chambers. In this case, the heart transports only a little amount of blood into the body and the patient soon loses consciousness.
 

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation can be either a slow arrhythmia (bradycardia) or a fast arrhythmia (tachycardia). In both cases, the atria are unable to pump blood. The amount of blood in the ventricles changes from beat to beat. The patient soon fills bad when the ventricles are filled with little blood as a result of high heart rates. His or her life is not immediately endangered, however, unlike cases of ventricular fibrillation.
 

Ventricular Fibrillation

Ventricular fibrillation corresponds to chaotic electrical activity in the ventricles. Irregular signals cause the heart rate to rise to 300 beats per minute, and the heart is no longer able to pump blood into the body. The patient's life is endangered. He or she loses consciousness, as the brain's irrigation with blood is disrupted. Immediate defibrillation thanks to an electroshock is the only solution to avoid death, or severe damage to the brain and other organs.
 

Reentry Circuit

A reentry circuit occurs when electrical signals are conducted in a circular fashion either between the atrium and the ventricle, or within the myocardium. In this case, the signals do not travel along their natural pathway (sinus node – atrium – AV node – ventricle), which compromises the heart’s ability to pump blood.
 

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome

The WPW syndrome is a short-circuit between atrium and ventricle alongside the natural pathway. The result is a tachycardia with a rate determined by both the speed and the size of the reentry circuit.
 

Supraventricular Tachycardia (Atrial Tachycardia)

This tachycardia originating in the atrium is often the result of a reentry circuit. The patient's heart palpitates for just a few seconds or for several days. Some people hardly notice this form of arrhythmia, while others suffer from circulatory problems when it happens.
 

AV Node Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT)

This is the most common form of supraventricular tachycardia. Reentry becomes possible as the AV node can use separate pathways with different speeds for conducting signals and responding to excitation. A heart rate ranging between 180 and 220 beats per minute is typical.
 

Accessory Pathways

Anticipated excitation becomes possible when the body forms accessory pathways in addition to the natural conduction circuit. The ventricular muscular tissue is activated earlier than it would be via the normal conduction pathway.