Arrhythmia is a rhythm disorder which most often occurs as a result of damage to part of the electrical circuit of the heart (often because of heart block). Arrhythmias is classified into two different categories: tachycardias and bradycardias. A patient with tachycardias experiences a heart rate faster than 100 beats per minute at rest. A patient with bradycardias, on the other hand, experiences a heart beat of less than 60 beats per minute at rest.
Arrhythmias can be treated with a multitude of different drugs, most of which have a calming effect on the heart. These drugs include calcium channel blockers, cardiac glycosides such as digitalis, and beta blockers. Most of these drugs do not cure the condition but simply improve the pumping efficiency of the heart and so reduce the occurrence and severity of symptoms. Of course, in severe cases, arrhythmias can be corrected with the installation of an artificial pacemaker.
