arrhythmia

American  

[uh-rith-mee-uh, ey-rith-] / əˈrɪð mi ə, eɪˈrɪð- /

noun

Pathology.

arrhythmias plural

1. any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat.

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arrhythmia British  

/ əˈrɪðmɪə /

noun

1. any variation from the normal rhythm in the heartbeat

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arrhythmia Scientific  

/ ə-rĭth′mē-ə /

1. An abnormal rhythm of the heart, often detectable on an electrocardiogram. Electrical impulses in the heart normally originate in the sinoatrial node of the right atrium during diastole and are transmitted through the atrioventricular node to the ventricles, causing the muscle contraction that usually occurs during systole. However, abnormalities of electrical conduction during diastole or systole can result in various alterations of the heartbeat, such as changes in heart rate, skipped or irregular beats, and fibrillation of the heart muscle, which can be life threatening. These electrical disturbances can be caused by metabolic abnormalities, inadequate blood supply (as in coronary artery disease), drug effects, chronic disease, and other factors. Arrhythmias are sometimes treated with the implantation of a pacemaker.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• arrhythmic
  adjective
• arrhythmical
  adjective
• arrhythmically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• arrhythmias
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arrhythmia

1885–90; < New Latin < Greek arrhythmía. See a- ⁶, rhythm, -ia

Compare meaning

How does arrhythmia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• arrhythmia vs. dysrhythmia

Example Sentences

Lang beguiled with common chords that no longer sounded common, with standard rhythms that intertwined, went on and off the beat, creating arrhythmia delight.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025

In a new study from Northwestern Medicine, researchers have created a more refined genetic risk score that helps determine whether a person is likely to develop arrhythmia, a condition in which the heart beats irregularly.

From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2025

The paper is titled "A combined genomic arrhythmia propensity score delineates cumulative risk."

From Science Daily • Nov. 17, 2025

Sixty years later, doctors told him that he'd lived with a cardiac arrhythmia for most of his life.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

I don’t know what an arrhythmia is, and I can’t bring myself to ask.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day