Heart Electrical Activity Problems

Every cell in the heart can act as a pacemaker.

Heart electrical activity problems. Rhythm disturbances may be normal physiologic responses but some may be potentially life threatening. Heart block is a problem with the flow of electrical signals in your heart. An electrophysiology ep study is a test that records the electrical activity and the electrical pathways of your heart in order to determine the best treatment for an abnormal heart rhythm. Heart rhythm problems heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don t work properly causing your heart to beat too fast too slow or irregularly.

A healthy sa node has an intrinsic heart beat. Heart problems often affect the electrical activity of your heart. Talking about the cardiac electrical system and abnormal heart rhythms can be very confusing. It may also happen when you are do a certain activity such as exercise.

This may be the situation when the slow heart beat is due to problems with the sinus node sick sinus syndrome. Fortunately the body tends to protect the heart as best as it can. The electrical signals control the way your heart beats. You wear small electrode patches on your chest arms and legs for the quick painless test which you take in your doctor s office.

Heart arrhythmias uh rith me uhs may feel like a fluttering or racing heart and may be harmless. The heart and its electrical activity work within a narrow range of normal. An electrocardiogram records the electrical activity of your heart. The timing of the heart s contractions is directed by the heart s electrical system.

The electrical impulse begins in the sinoatrial sa node located in the right atrium. Pacemakers are also needed when there is electrical block of the signals. Normally the sa node adjusts the rate of impulses depending on the person s activity. These actions when timed perfectly allow for an efficient pump.

However often the slow heart beat cannot be improved by medication adjustments and then a pacemaker is needed. Abnormalities in the heart s electrical system can lead to problems with the heart rate too fast or too slow or can entirely disrupt the normal functioning of the heart even if the heart s muscles and valves themselves are entirely normal.