Does your heart usually skip a beat?

It could be an Arrhythmia

Arrhythmia is a disorder of the heart pulse or heart rhythm such as beating too fast
(tachycardia) or beating too slow (bradycardia), or irregular heartbeat. Premature or extra
beats are the most common type of arrhythmia. This usually feels like a fluttering in the
chest or a feeling of a skipped heartbeat. The human heart has an electrical system that
instructs it when to beat and push blood across the body. If there is trouble with this
system, a person might experience heart rhythm disorders.

Arrhythmias are caused due to the problems with the heart's electrical conduction system,
such as abnormal or extra signals might occur or the electrical signals might be blocked or
slowed down or can even travel in new or different pathways through the heart. Some
causes of heart rhythm disorder are mentioned below:

Heart failure & heart attack

Congenital heart defects
High blood pressure
Infections that damage the heart muscle or the sac around the heart
Diabetes
Acute sleep disorders
An overactive or underactive thyroid gland

Arrhythmia may also develop due to the use of certain drugs such as alcohol, caffeine, or
stimulants like amphetamines, beta-blockers, cigarette smoking etc. It is also possible for
the prescribed medication to treat one type of Arrhythmia and end up causing another one.
Arrhythmia diagnosis involves a detailed interview which includes the patient's medical
history, family history, diet, and lifestyle. This includes few tests such as:
Blood and Urine tests to check the patient's blood count and liver, thyroid, and
kidney function and also to check for electrolytes and other chemicals.
ECG (Electrocardiogram) to record the electrical activity and rhythm of the
patient's heart.
Holter monitor to record the patients heart for one or two days. When arrhythmia
symptoms are seen a button can be pressed which allows the doctor to see what
heart rhythms were present at that moment.
Echo Cardiogram This is an ultrasound scan that checks the pumping action of the
patient's heart.
Chest X-Ray - The images help the doctor to check the state of the patients heart
and the lungs.
Tilt-Table test - This test is recommended if the patient experiences fainting,
dizziness or lightheadedness, and if the ECG and the Holter fails to diagnose any
arrhythmias.
Electrophysiological testing (EP study) - EP study procedure records the electrical
system of the heart and helps to determine the type of arrhythmia, why it is
happening, and how it might respond to treatment.
 Heart Catheterization This test provides information on how well the heart is
working. A thin, hollow tube called a catheter is inserted into a large blood vessel,
usually in the groin.

Arrhythmia treatment is required only if the arrhythmia is very serious and complicated.
Different arrhythmia types require different treatments. Some of the common heart
rhythm disorder treatments are:
Electrical "shock" therapy (defibrillation or cardioversion)
Implanting a short-term heart pacemaker
Medications given through a vein (intravenous) or by mouth
Medications called anti-arrhythmic drugs may be used to prevent an arrhythmia
from happening again
Cardiac ablation is used to destroy areas in your heart that causes heart rhythm
problems
An implantable cardiac defibrillator is placed for patients who are at high risk of
sudden cardiac death
A Pacemaker might be placed to send a signal to the heart to make the heart beat at
the correct pace.

Narayana Health group of hospitals are some of the best hospitals in India for heart rhythm
disorders treatment with some of the best-skilled doctors in the country. Narayana health
is the best hospital in India with 24 hospitals, 7 heart centres and a network of primary
health centres across India and 1 hospital in the Cayman Islands. Narayana Health provides
high quality healthcare services for Arrhythmia treatment in India with a team of the most
dedicated and experienced physicians. This superspeciality hospital in India provides
advanced care in almost 30 specialities including cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer
care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopaedics, nephrology and urology and
gastroenterology.