Sometimes, atrial tachycardia is idiopathic, meaning doctors can find no specific cause. An "irritable focus," when cells outside the sinus node start generating an electrical impulse automatically on their own.Excessive use of alcohol, cocaine and other stimulants.A "stretched" atrium resulting from high blood pressure ( hypertension) or from cardiomyopathy.Palpitations (a fluttering in the chest)Ītrial tachycardia occurs most commonly in elderly patients and those with other types of heart disease, though it occasionally appears in children, younger people and those with healthy hearts.If it continues, it is called persistent AT What are the symptoms of atrial tachycardia?Ītrial tachycardia may cause no symptoms at all or may cause any of the following: Atrial tachycardia usually occurs for brief periods and starts and stops spontaneously. (A normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.) The rapid heart contractions prevent the chambers from filling completely between beats.Īn arrhythmia centered in the upper chambers of the heart is called a supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) - literally, fast "heartbeat above the ventricles" (lower chambers). Electricity circles the atria again and again, causing the upper chambers to contract more than 100 times per minute. During atrial tachycardia, an electrical impulse outside the sinus node fires repeatedly, often due to a short circuit - a circular electrical pathway. What happens during atrial tachycardia?Ī normal heartbeat begins with an electrical impulse from the sinus node, a single point in the heart's right atrium (right upper chamber). It occurs when the electrical signal that controls the heartbeat starts from an unusual location in the upper chambers (atria) and rapidly repeats, causing the atria to beat too quickly. Atrial tachycardia (AT) is a type of abnormal heart rhythm, or arrhythmia.
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