Arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat caused by a malfunction in the electrical impulses to the heart. During arrhythmia, the heart either beats too slow (bradycardia), too fast (tachycardia) or irregularly (atrial fibrillation). Some cardiac arrhythmias occur without symptoms. Others may cause noticeable symptoms, such as: Heart palpitations or fluttering, skipped or extra heart beat, weakness, fatigue, dizziness or light-headedness, fainting, shortness of breath or chest discomfort
After assessing your symptoms and medical history and clinical examination. Dr Khoo may order additional tests to confirm an arrhythmia diagnosis including blood work, electrocardiogram (ECG) echocardiogram, holter monitor, event recorder or others.
Treating slow heartbeats (bradycardia) – If slow heartbeats do not have a cause that can be corrected, a pacemaker is often the treatment of choice as there are no medications that can speed up your heart reliably. A pacemaker is a small device that’s usually implanted near your collarbone. One or more electrode-tipped wires run from the pacemaker through your blood vessels to your inner heart. If your heart rate is too slow or if it stops, the pacemaker sends out electrical impulses that stimulate your heart to beat at a steady rate
Treating fast heartbeats (tachycardia) – treatments may include vagal manoeuvres, medications to control the heart rate or Electrophysiological studies (EPS) with a view of radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
