A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. A heart rate above or below that may signal a health condition.
A heart arrhythmia (uh-RITH-me-uh) is an irregular heartbeat. A heart arrhythmia happens when the electrical signals that tell the heart to beat don't work as they should. The heart may beat too fast or too slow. Or the pattern of the heartbeat may be inconsistent. A heart arrhythmia may feel like a fluttering, pounding or racing heartbeat.
Bradycardia (brad-e-KAHR-dee-uh) is a slow heart rate. The hearts of adults at rest usually beat between 60 and 100 times a minute. If you have bradycardia, your heart beats fewer than 60 times a minute. Bradycardia can be a serious problem if the heart rate is very slow and the heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body.
Heart arrhythmia treatment is usually only needed if the irregular heartbeat causes significant symptoms or puts you at risk of more-serious heart conditions. Treatment for heart arrhythmias may include medicines, special actions called vagal maneuvers, procedures or surgery.
Your pulse rate is your heart rate. It's the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Learning how to check your pulse the correct way may help you know if your heart is beating too slow or too fast. You can feel your pulse in an artery in your wrist or in your neck. The wrist artery is called the radial artery.
During atrial fibrillation, the heart's upper chambers, called the atria, beat chaotically and irregularly. They beat out of sync with the lower heart chambers, called the ventricles. AFib may cause a fast, pounding heartbeat, shortness of breath or light-headedness. Some people don't notice symptoms. Episodes of atrial fibrillation may come and go, or they may be constant. AFib itself usually ...