Managing geriatric arrhythmias, I: General considerations. Cardiac arrhythmias become increasingly common as people age, but they are not always clinically significant. Sinus node dysfunction, AV conduction disturbances, and ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias will be found but are not always symptomatic. Treatment of asymptomatic arrhythmias is controversial and probably not indicated, but in symptomatic elderly, therapy is indicated, since even the very elderly have been found to benefit from it as much as younger patients. There are specific guidelines, however, that apply to this age group based on its susceptibility to side effects. 