Many of us have also heard the old wives tale that if you're born with a certain number of heartbeats, and your heart is beating rapidly, you use them up faster. While these are fallacies, any erratic heartbeat can be frightening. Sometimes, a minor problem unrelated to the heart can cause an arrhythmia, such as an overactive thyroid or an electrolyte imbalance. Attributed to a problem in the electrical conducting system of the heart, an arrhythmia may cause the heart to beat rapidly, slowly, irregularly or with an extra beat. Arrhythmias may happen daily, weekly, or only once every few months.
Patients report having palpitations, or a feeling that their heart is racing or skipping a beat.
When the heartbeat is too slow, a patient may sometimes feel dizzy, faint or black out. While most arrhythmias are harmless, it's always best to get them checked to rule out other problems and to have peace of mind that you're not going to have a major problem. Too much caffeine or alcohol, and a women's menstrual cycle, can also cause temporary arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is diagnosed through a patient history, EKG, physical examination, and often, by wearing a Holter monitor. A physician may also order a stress test to see how the heart responds during exercise, or an echocardiogram to get a full picture of the heart.