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Arrhythmias

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What are Arrhythmias?

An arrhythmia indicates there is an abnormality of the heart’s natural heart rhythm. There are many kinds of arrhythmias. Sometimes, the heart beats too quickly or too slowly. Other times, there may be an irregularity in the heartbeat.

Symptoms of Arrhythmia

Not all arrhythmias cause symptoms which you can feel. Or you might experience:

Palpitations
Rapid heartbeat
Feeling that your heart skips a beat
Fainting
Dizziness
Lightheadedness
Shortness of breath
Discomfort in your chest
Fatigue or weakness

UR Medicine's Treatments for Arrhythmias

Ambulatory cardiac monitoring: UR Medicine can monitor your heart's activity while you go about your daily activities. Multiple types of monitors are available, with varying duration to monitor the heart rhythm. This helps to diagnose what arrythmias you may be experiencing and determine the best treatment.
Medication: For many patients, this may be all that’s needed to control a heart rhythm disorder.
Pacemakers: These devices treat bradycardia, or slow heartbeat, to help your body maintain a normal heart rate.
Atrial fibrillation ablation: A thin catheter (tube) is threaded through a blood vessel in the thigh and up to the heart, and high-frequency electrical energy is used to block the abnormal electrical activity. After the procedure, many patients experience a significant reduction or may never experience arrhythmia symptoms again.
Implantable cardiac defibrillators: Certain heart rhythm disorders put patients at risk of their heart suddenly beating in a dangerous, life-threatening rhythm. An implantable defibrillator can reset the heart's rhythm if this happens.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation: A fast heartbeat that can’t be managed with medication can often be helped through VT ablation. A catheter is inserted and directed up to the heart, and energy charges are delivered to the faulty area of the heart to inactivate the abnormal tissue.

Video: Electrophysiology Lab Offers Curative Therapy with Reduced Risks

Video: Virtual Hearts Help Understand Real-World Patients

Patient Stories

Arrhythmia Stopped her Heart

Brynn Taylor was born with a rare, life-threatening heart defect. Weighing just 2 pounds at birth, Brynn would need to wait until she weighed 5 pounds to have open-heart surgery at UR Medicine's Golisano Children's Hospital.

What Sets Us Apart?

UR Medicine Cardiac Care is a world leader in heart rhythm disorders. Doctors here led research that has changed the way arrhythmias are treated around the world.

Other medical centers use our guidelines when deciding which patients need treatment for serious cardiac rhythm problems. We offer the most advanced and effective treatments for heart rhythm disorders and perform more of them than any other hospital in the Rochester area. In many cases, the treatments we provide are unavailable elsewhere in the region.

We have three fully equipped labs for ablation and device implants. These labs are staffed by nurses and technicians who work exclusively on heart rhythm disorders. Our newest lab provides robotic navigation for radiofrequency ablation, giving our patients even greater precision, safety and versatility.

The Hereditary Arrhythmia Clinic at UR Medicine

The Hereditary Arrhythmia Clinic at UR Medicine is one of only a handful of centers in worldwide that provides comprehensive management of patients who have hereditary rhythm disorders—as well as serving their families. Our clinic can provide treatments and recommendations including medication, defibrillator implantation and lifestyle modifications.

Our translational research team has established the world’s oldest and largest registry of patients with Long QT Syndrome, the International LQTS Registry. Our clinician scientists work with patients in this registry to discover causes of LQTS, develop new diagnostic tests for LQTS and identify new therapies.