Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) Treatment: Medicine

The treatment of arrhythmias aims to maintain the heart's ability to pump blood efficiently. Treatment depends on the type and seriousness of the particular rhythm disturbance. For example:

• Medications are most often used in tachyarrhythmias (fast heart rates).
• Electrical conversion is used for life-threatening irregular rhythms.
• Pacemakers are used most frequently for bradyarrhythmias (slow heart rates).

Prescription medications for arrhythmias act to slow the electrical activity in the heart. The drugs in classes I-IV are grouped according to the specific way that they slow electrical activity. Many of them have additional uses, such as treating high blood pressure. All of them can produce serious side effects and must be used with great care and strict adherence to instructions. Medications include:

• Class I drugs: Classes IA, IB and IC
• Class II drugs: Beta-blockers
• Class III drugs
• Class IV drugs: Calcium channel blockers
• Digoxin
• Adenosine

There are also a number of surgical procedures and devices that may be used to treat an arrhythmia:

• Radiofrequency catheter ablation
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• Surgical subendocardial resection
• Maze operation
• Implanted cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD)
• Artificial pacemaker
• Cardioversion

• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Class I Drugs
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Class II Drugs
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Class III Drugs
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Class IV Drugs
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Digoxin
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Adenosine
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Radiofrequency Ablation
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Surgical Subendocardial Resection
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Maze Procedure—Open Surgery
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Automatic Cardioverter Defibrillator Implantation
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Pacemaker Insertion
• Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Cardioversion
• Talking to Your Doctor About Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances)

Like many other drugs used to treat arrhythmias, class I drugs help by slowing the electrical activity in the heart. Drugs in sub-classes IA, IB and IC all work slightly differently, and all drugs in...

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Like many other drugs used to treat arrhythmias, class II drugs (beta blockers) help by slowing the electrical activity in the heart. While their overall effect may be similar to other drugs, these...

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Like many other drugs used to treat arrhythmias, class III drugs help by slowing the electrical activity in the heart. While their overall effect may be similar to other drugs, these drugs work...

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Like many other drugs used to treat arrhythmias, class IV drugs (calcium channel blockers) help by slowing the electrical activity in the heart. Most of the drugs in this category are used to lower...

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These drugs are primarily used to control the rate of ventricular response to tachyarrhythmias (heartbeats that are too fast).

Read more about Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Digoxin.

Adenosine helps treat tachyarrhythmias by slowing the heartbeat.

Read more about Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Adenosine.

An ablation procedure helps treat certain arrhythmias by finding the origin of the abnormal signals and then using a cauterizing current or a burst of radiofrequency energy to destroy the tiny area...

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During a CABG procedure, a blood vessel (vein) is taken from the leg or chest or wrist and grafted into a diseased artery, bypassing the blocked area. If more than one area is blocked, a bypass can be...

Read more about Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG).

A surgical subendocardial resection has the potential to help treat specific arrhythmias by removing scar tissue underneath the lining of the heart. In these cases, the scar tissue within the heart...

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Electrical impulses cannot flow through scar tissue. By creating specific patterns of scar tissue in the atria, maze surgery creates a pathway for healthy impulses and blocks erratic impulses.

Read more about Arrhythmias (Heart Rhythm Disturbances) and Maze Procedure—Open Surgery.

Most ICDs have both pacemaker and defibrillator functions. If the heart beats too slowly, the ICD can help the heart beat at a normal pace. If the heart begins to beat in a disorganized way, the...

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An artificial pacemaker may work as a substitute for the heart's natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial (SA) node. Artificial pacemakers help treat some arrhythmias by generating regular impulses that make...

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The underlying mechanism of cardioversion is based on the fact that these rhythms represent circular electrical currents that keep the heart muscle—or parts of it—twitching in an uncoordinated...

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