A group of cells in the top chamber of your heart make up your sinus node – your internal pacemaker. This sets the rhythm and pace of your heart. First it fires an electrical signal to your atria and atrioventricular node. From there, the electrical signal passes through pathways of fibres in the lower chambers of your heart. These signals tell your heart chambers when to contract and expand.
If there’s something wrong with the electrical sequence, your heart might beat with an irregular pattern, or go too fast or too slow. The most common abnormal heart rhythm is atrial fibrillation (AF). This happens when the top chambers of your heart are electrically chaotic, which stops them from working.
You might feel heart palpitations, you might feel dizzy and tired, or you might not have any symptoms at all. Whatever the case, our heart rhythm specialists can explain whether it’s something you can manage with medicines, or whether you’d benefit from treatment like an ablation, a procedure to correct irregular heart rhythms.