What Does Sinus Arrhythmia Look Like

What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor About Sinus Tachycardia

• Whats causing my sinus tachycardia?
• Are my symptoms a sign of something more serious?
• Do I need a follow-up appointment?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Sinus tachycardia is one type of fast heartbeat. Its a common reaction to things like stress, intense exercise or dehydration. Symptoms usually go away on their own once the stressful situation has passed. If symptoms stick around when your body is at rest, its time to contact your healthcare provider. Sinus tachycardia isnt usually a cause for concern, but other kinds of tachycardia can be more dangerous. Youll want to be sure that your provider can rule those other kinds out.

How Can I Help My Child Live With An Arrhythmia

Some arrhythmias don’t cause any problems. Some are more serious. A child with a serious arrhythmia will need frequent checkups.

Talk with your child’s healthcare provider about managing your child’s arrhythmia. Your child may need regular tests. Or your child may not be able to take part in some sports or activities.

When Should I Seek Care For Sinus Tachycardia

If youve been through a stressful situation or strenuous exercise just before your symptoms started, your symptoms will most likely pass quickly without treatment. However, if you have other health problems or the symptoms dont go away when your body is at rest, you should contact your provider.

While sinus tachycardia is usually not a cause for worry, there are other problems that cause a fast heartbeat. Some of these other tachycardias are more serious, so youll want to make sure you dont have those.

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How A Smartwatch Ecg Can Capture Arrhythmias

Smartwatches like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Samsung Watch have a lot of features that you will find helpful. They monitor the level of exercise you do and can calculate calories burned. Many smartwatch designs also feature an ECG recorder. They are easy to set and record your heart rhythm. People use the features to monitor general fitness, but sometimes the watches can be used to record symptoms in people who have experienced problems such as palpitations or dizziness. A smartwatch uses a green LED light and photosensors on the back of the watch to monitor blood flow in the capillary veins and detects the heart rhythm.

The ECG recorder on a smartwatch does not record a full 12-lead ECG to look at all the different areas of the heart that you would get if you visited a doctor. Instead, you simply get a single lead tracing with a smartwatch. You can also get a heart tracing from small portable devices such as KardiaMobile from AliveCor and from some home blood pressure monitoring kits.

Any Cause For Concern

Most cases of respiratory-linked sinus arrhythmia are not dangerous. In fact, most sinus arrhythmia cases are normal and indicative of a healthy heart. The irregular beating from the sinus node can be a normal finding in young, otherwise healthy individuals. However, there can be a lot of fluctuation of the heartbeat that may vary with normal breathing in some people. So, if sinus arrhythmia is a concern for you, know that most cases are normal findings.

However, sometimes the recording detects movement and interference known as artifacts, which can appear as abnormal on a trace. The important thing is to consider how you are feeling. For example, if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, experience breathlessness, or have chest pain, you should see a doctor immediately. As a layperson who is not used to reading ECG tracings, it is hard to assess whether your irregular trace is a problem or not. Thankfully, you can access a service like QALY, where an expert will tell you what the tracing shows, such as a normal sinus arrhythmia tracing.

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How Is It Treated

You likely will not need treatment for a sinus arrhythmia. Because its considered a common occurrence and doesnt lead to any other issues, treatment is not necessary for most people. A sinus arrhythmia may eventually become undetectable as children and young adults grow older.

If you develop a sinus arrhythmia because of another heart condition, such as heart disease, your doctor will likely treat the original condition. Treating the condition may help stop the arrhythmia.

Why Does Sinus Tachycardia Happen

• Tachycardia is one of those Rhythms that can come from a lot of different origins. Tachycardia can be the result of:
• Physical exertion

Its important to assess the cause of tachycardia. Ask yourself questions like:

• Does the tachycardia only happen when the patient moves or is walking?
• Does it happen when they turn themselves in the bed?
• How long does it take for the patients rate to slow when they are still?
• Does it happen when they are sitting still or sleeping?

Assessing the trend of tachycardia is also important. Know if a patients rate has been trending up and if they become symptomatic.

Primary drugs and treatments: Beta-Blockers and calcium channel blockers are two of the primary medications you may see in the treatment of tachycardia. Many times, if stable, some providers may choose to hold off on pharmacological treatment until it is warranted. For anxiety-induced tachycardia, removing the stressor and remaining calm helps.

Sustained rates above 120 beats per minute should especially be monitored and reported to a physician or advanced practice provider.

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What Are Ekg Tracings

Many of us are familiar with what a basic EKG tracing looks like. But what does it mean?

The first little upward notch of the EKG tracing is called the “P wave.” The P wave indicates that the atria are contracting to pump out blood.

The next part of the tracing is a short downward section connected to a tall upward section. This next part is called the “QRS complex.” This part indicates that the ventricles are contracting to pump out blood to the body.

The next short upward segment is called the “ST segment.” The ST segment indicates the amount of time from the end of the contraction of the ventricles to the beginning of the rest period before the ventricles begin to contract for the next beat.

The next upward curve is called the “T wave.” The T wave indicates the resting period of the ventricles.

When your child’s physician studies your child’s EKG, he/she looks at the size and length of each part of the EKG. Variations in size and length of the different parts of the tracing may be significant.

The tracing for each lead of a 12-lead EKG will look different, but will have the same basic components as described above. Each lead of the 12-lead EKG is “looking” at a specific part of the heart from different angles. Variations in a lead may indicate a problem with the part of the heart associated with that particular lead.

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Key Points About Arrhythmias In Children

• An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm. It may be a heart rate that is too fast, too slow, or irregular.

• An arrhythmia may not cause any symptoms. Or an arrhythmia may cause moderate to very serious symptoms.

• An arrhythmia may not need treatment. If treatment is given, your child may need medicine, radiofrequency ablation, a device, or surgery.

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The Difference Between Sinus Rhythm And Heart Rate

While similar, sinus rhythm is a little different from heart rate. Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute. A resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute is considered normal for most people. However, your heart rate can be either faster or slower than this, depending on the demands placed on your heart as well as other underlying health conditions.

Sinus rhythm, on the other hand, refers to the pattern of your heartbeat. It corresponds to the rate at which electrical pulses are sent out from the sinus node. When these pulses are sent out at a normal rate, itâs referred to as normal sinus rhythm.

As you can probably see, sinus rhythm and heart rate are linked. Electrical pulses must first be generated by the sinus node . As these pulses travel through the heart muscle, they cause it to beat . Because of this, sinus rhythm often aligns with your heart rate.

None! Sinus rhythm is perfectly normal and healthy.

What Is Normal Sinus Rhythm

Essentially NSR is the basic appropriate rhythm of a properly functioning heart, with heart rates between 60 bpm-100 bpm . It is called Sinus rhythm because the impulses for this rhythm originate in the sinoatrial node and continue down through the regular pathway .

NSR is the standard to which all other heart rhythms are judged and compared.

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What Is A Sinus Arrhythmia On Ecg

Sinus arrhythmia refers to a changing sinus node rate with the respiratory cycle, on inspiration and expiration. This is quite common in young, healthy individuals and has no clinical significance. The heart rate increases with inspiration, due to the Bainbridge reflex, and decreases with expiration.

Pearls And Other Issues

Sinus arrhythmia is a common incidental finding on routine EKG. It is most prevalent in young, healthy patients and is a prognostic indicator of good cardiac health. It decreases in prevalence in the elderly, and those with multiple comorbid conditions include diabetes and heart failure. Typically asymptomatic, patients rarely require evaluation by a cardiologist or additional treatment.

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When Should You Seek Advice From A Doctor

If you think there is an irregular heart rhythm on your smartwatch ECG and also feel unwell, such as feeling dizzy, breathless, or have chest pain, you should call a doctor or 911. But what if you are unsure about the tracing or notice a change, you can submit your ECG to the QALY app, where a clinical expert can check your smartwatch tracing and advise you on what to do next. There won’t be a problem most of the time, but occasionally you may need to see a doctor for a sinus arrhythmia ECG problem.

What Can We Do About Normal Sinus Rhythm

Achieving NSR is a complex orchestra of electrical signals, chemical reactions, and pressure changes. Things that can help a body experiencing anything other than normal sinus rhythm are numerous and dependent on the problem itself. Heres a quick list of common medications and procedures used to restore the hearts normal rhythm.

• Pharmacological:

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Is Marked Sinus Arrhythmia Serious

Keep in mind that for the majority of people, a sinus arrhythmia is neither dangerous nor problematic. Even if your doctor suspects you have this irregular heartbeat, he may not order the test to check for it. Thats because an EKG can be costly, and a sinus arrhythmia is considered a benign condition.

How Is An Arrhythmia Diagnosed In A Child

Your child’s healthcare provider will ask about your child’s health history and family history. He or she look for signs and symptoms of an arrhythmia. The provider will give your child an exam focusing on the heart. Your child may need to see a pediatric cardiologist. This is a doctor with special training to treat children with heart problems. Your child may need tests, including:

• Electrocardiogram . This simple test measures the electrical activity of the heart. An ECG may show an arrhythmia. The test may be a:

• Resting ECG. Your child will lie down while electrodes are connected to the ECG machine by wires. The ECG records the heart’s electrical activity for a minute or so.

• Stress test . Your child is attached to the ECG machine as described above. He or she will walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike while the ECG is recorded. This test is done to check the heart during exercise.

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Among The Nation’s Best

U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked the Herma Heart Institute at Children’s Wisconsin among the top programs in the nation for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery. This ranking reflects the excellent outcomes and care we provide for even the most complex heart conditions. Families travel from across the country, and even around the world, to receive care from our specialists who are experienced in treating congenital heart disease from before birth and into adulthood.

What Is Sinus Rhythm

Sinus rhythm refers to the rhythm of your heartbeat, determined by the sinus node of your heart. The sinus node creates an electrical pulse that travels through your heart muscle, causing it to contract, or beat. You can think of the sinus node as a natural pacemaker.

While similar, sinus rhythm is a little different from heart rate. Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats in a minute.

For most people, a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute is considered normal. However, your heart rate can be either faster or slower than this, depending on the demands placed on your heart as well as other underlying health conditions.

Sinus rhythm, on the other hand, refers to the pattern of your heartbeat. It corresponds to the rate at which electrical pulses are sent out from the sinus node. When these pulses are sent out at a normal rate, its referred to as normal sinus rhythm.

As you can probably see, sinus rhythm and heart rate are linked. Electrical pulses must first be generated by the sinus node . As these pulses travel through the heart muscle, they cause it to beat . Because of this, sinus rhythm often aligns with your heart rate.

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What Causes Sinus Arrhythmia

Providers separate different kinds of sinus arrhythmia based on their causes.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Its normal to have respiratory sinus arrhythmia simply because youre breathing. When you take a breath, your heart rate goes up. When you breathe out, it slows down.

The time between each heartbeat is known as the P-P interval. In most people, theres a slight variation of less than 0.16 seconds. In cases of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, the P-P interval will often be longer than 0.16 seconds when the person breathes out.

Nonrespiratory sinus arrhythmia

In EKG results, nonrespiratory sinus arrhythmia can look like respiratory sinus arrhythmia. But people with this type usually:

• Had a head or neck injury.
• Took too much digoxin .
• Have heart disease.

Ventriculophasic sinus arrhythmia

Providers can identify ventriculophasic sinus arrhythmia by looking at the electrocardiogram results. People with this kind of sinus arrhythmia usually have third-degree AV block.

Still Not Sure How To Spot Sinus Arrhythmia

One of the benefits of a smartwatch is that you have many features to help you stay healthy. Aside from looking at heart tracings, take time to use some of the other apps to learn how the watch works with calorie counting, healthy exercise, and sleep patterns. All these help you to have a healthy lifestyle and protect your heart. Learning to use your smartwatch features will enable you to make the best use of the device, and the more you utilize the apps, the more you will benefit from the various gadgets.

Finally, if you are concerned about the ECG tracings from your smartwatch, you can get them reviewed by experts for arrhythmias within minutes on the QALY app. It will give you peace of mind and help you to get an assessment if needed. So if you have any questions.

1. Soos, M and McComb, D. Sinus Arrhythmia. Retrieved from

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Look At The Patients Presenting Complaint

This one assessment will usually identify the source of the tachycardia. For example, a firefighter has just come out of a house fire. He was inside for 30 minutes and is hot and exhausted. His heart rate is 160 bpm. Is this sinus tachycardia or SVT?

This is sinus tach because we can easily explain the reason for the rapid heart rate. In addition, when we sit him down, remove his bunker coat and let him cool off and drink water, the rate gradually returns to normal.

A woman calls 911 because her heart is racing. She tells you that she was reading a story to her grandchild when the symptoms started suddenly. Her heart rate is 160 bpm. Her skin is warm and dry, and she is not pale or cyanotic. Her breathing is normal. She has no chest pain. Is this sinus tach or SVT?

This is SVT because there is no obvious reason for sinus tach and the onset was sudden.