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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Tachycardia is a faster than normal heart rate. A healthy adult heart beats 60 to 100 times a minute when a person is at rest. If you have tachycardia (tak-ih-KAHR-de-uh), the rate in the upper chambers or lower chambers of the heart, or both, are increased significantly.

Heart rate is controlled by electrical signals sent across heart tissues. Tachycardia occurs when an abnormality in the heart produces rapid electrical signals.

In some cases, tachycardias may cause no symptoms or complications. However, tachycardias can seriously disrupt normal heart function, increase the risk of stroke, or cause sudden cardiac arrest or death.

Treatments may help control a rapid heartbeat or manage diseases contributing to tachycardia.

Symptoms
References
  1. Mitchell LB. Arrhythmias and conduction disorders: Introduction. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch075/ch075a.html. Accessed April 19, 2009.
  2. Olgin JE, et al. Specific arrhythmias: Diagnosis and treatment. In: Libby P, et al., eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..X5001-8--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&uniq=134565520#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50038-8%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4106-1. Accessed April 19, 2009.
  3. Ventricular tachycardia. American Heart Association. http://americanheart.org/print_presenter.jhtml?identifier=3062877. Accessed April 22, 2009.
  4. Atrial or supraventricular tachycardia. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3062868. Accessed April 18, 2009.
  5. Mitchell LB. Atrial fibrillation (AF). The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch075/ch075e.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  6. Mitchell LB. Ventricular tachycardia (VT). The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch075/ch075k.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  7. Mitchell LB. Reentrant supraventricular tachycardias (SVT, PSVT). The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch075/ch075g.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
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  9. Hebbar AK, et al. Management of common arrhythmias: Part I. Supraventricular arrhythmias. American Family Physician. 2002;65:2479.
  10. Hebbar AK, et al. Management of common arrhythmias: Part II. Ventricular arrhythmias and arrhythmias in special populations. American Family Physician. 2002;65:2491.
  11. Mitchell LB. Atrial flutter. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch075/ch075f.html. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  12. What are Holter, event and transtelephonic monitors? American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3005149. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
  13. Calkins H. Supraventricular tachycardia: AV nodal reentry and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. In: Fuster V, et al., eds. Hurst's The Heart. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3050545. Accessed April 19, 2009.
  14. Prystowsky EN, et al. Approach to the patient with cardiac arrhythmias: Introduction. In: Fuster V, et al., eds. Hurst's The Heart. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3048673. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  15. Delacretaz E. Supraventricular tachycardia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;354:1039.
  16. Prystowsky EN, et al. Atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and atrial tachycardia: Introduction. In: Fuster V, et al., eds. Hurst's The Heart. 12th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3048772. Accessed April 20, 2009.
  17. Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 29, 2009.

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