Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

arrhythmia

[uh-rith -mee-uh, ey-rith -]
See more synonyms for arrhythmia on Thesaurus.com
noun Pathology.
  1. any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat.
Show More
Also arhythmia.

Origin of arrhythmia

1885–90; < New Latin < Greek arrhythmía. See a-6, rhythm, -ia
Related formsarrhyth·mic [uh-rith -mik, ey-rith -] /əˈrɪð mɪk, eɪˈrɪð-/, ar·rhyth·mi·cal, adjectivear·rhyth·mi·cal·ly, adverb
Can be confusedarrhythmic eurhythmic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for arrhythmic

Contemporary Examples

British Dictionary definitions for arrhythmic

arrhythmia

noun
  1. any variation from the normal rhythm in the heartbeat
Show More

Word Origin

C19: New Latin, from Greek arrhuthmia, from a- 1 + rhuthmos rhythm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arrhythmic

adj.

1853, "without rhythm," in relation to musical sensibility, Modern Latin, from Greek arrhythmos "irregular, unrhythmical, without measure," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + rhythmos (see rhythm). Medical arrhythmia "irregularity of pulse" is attested from 1888, from Greek noun of action from arrhythmos. Related: Arrhythmically.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
arrhythmic in Medicine

arrhythmic

(ə-rĭð′mĭk)
adj.
  1. Lacking rhythm or regularity of rhythm.
Show More

arrhythmia

(ə-rĭð′mē-ə)
n.
  1. An irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
arrhythmic in Science

arrhythmia

[ə-rĭð′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.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.