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Cardiology > Cardiac Arrhythmias
Cardiac arrhytmias is a term applied to disturbances of :
- frequency of heart beats
- regularity of heart beats
- origin of heart beats impulse
- Frequency
Increased frequency is described as
/tachycardia
Decreased frequency is described as
/bradycardia
- Regularity
Irregularity may be absolute - for example [atrial fibrillation]
? or
with a pattern - for example bigeminia
? or trigeminia
?.
- Origin
In normal conditions heart beat impulses are generated in [sinoatrial node]
?.
If the impulse is generated in other parts of the heart it is regarded as a
pathological phenomenon.
- Diagnosis
The most simple and effective diagnostic test for assesment of heart rhythm is
electrocardiogram
? ( abbreviated
ECG or
EKG.