The heart’s job is to pump blood through your body. The heart’s electrical system triggers the heart to pump. The pulse or heartbeat is what you feel when the heart’s lower chambers, ventricles, push blood out of the heart through the blood vessels.
The normal heart beat is regular (no skipping), and has a rate between 60 to 100 beats per minute. When you rest your heart rate slows down, when you are active your heart rate goes up.
The Heart’s Electrical System
The electrical signal starts in the heart’s right upper chamber (the right atrium) at the sinus node and then spreads to the other upper chamber (the left atrium). The signal is then collected at the center of the heart at the AV node. The AV node is the only electrical connection from the upper chambers (atria) to the lower chambers (ventricles) in the normal heart. From the AV node, the signal speeds along special nerves call the right and left bundle branches into the lower chambers (the ventricles). The electrical signal triggers the ventricles to pump blood to the body.
What is ventricular tachycardia (VT or V-tach)?
Ventricular tachycardia happens when an electrical signal is triggered in the ventricles and continues at a rate greater than 100 beats per minute. Many times the heartbeat is 170 beats per minute or more. When the heart is beating this fast, it cannot fill with blood between each squeeze. The amount of blood pumped with each beat is much less than normal causing lightheadedness, fainting, confusion, weakness, shortness of breath or chest pressure or pain. It is a serious heart arrhythmia that needs medical attention.
What causes ventricular tachycardia?
Most times ventricular tachycardia is caused by other heart problems. Coronary artery disease, previous heart attack, heart failure, high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, heart valve problems and previous heart surgery can cause ventricular tachycardia.
VT can be caused by imbalances of electrolytes (like potassium, magnesium), drinking excessive caffeine and alcohol, using recreational drugs or genetically inherited conditions.