What is complete heart block?

An abnormal heart rhythm is a change in either the speed or the pattern of the heartbeat — the heart may beat too slowly, too rapidly or irregularly. When the heart beats too slowly, too little blood is pumped out to the rest of the body. When the heart beats too quickly, it cannot fill completely so the body doesn’t receive the blood volume it needs to function properly. Slow heart rates are called bradycardias. Fast heart rates are called tachycardias. A heart that beats too fast or too slow can cause lightheadedness or dizziness, palpitations (skipping, fluttering or pounding in the chest), fatigue, chest pressure or pain, shortness of breath or fainting spells. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all. Left untreated, certain abnormal heart rhythms can cause death. On the other hand, some arrhythmias are common and not associated with any untoward conditions, so-called benign arrhythmias. Heart block is an abnormal heart rhythm where the heart beats too slowly (bradycardia). In this condition, the electrical signals that tell the heart to contract are partially or totally blocked between the upper chambers (atria) and the lower chambers (ventricles). For this reason, it is also called atrioventricular block (AV block). A normal heartbeat is initiated by an electrical signal that comes from the heart’s natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial (SA) node, located at the top of the right atrium. The electrical signal travels through the atria and reaches the atrioventricular (AV...
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